


You Were Meant to be Mine

by LusciaKoushiro



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fix-It, Happy Ending, If season 8 can use Curtis as a plot device than so can I, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Suicide, M/M, Minor Violence, Post-Canon Fix-It, Post-Season/Series 08 Finale, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Sentient Atlas, Sentient Voltron Lions, Shiro (Voltron) Has PTSD - Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, You want me to accept cannon? This is how I cannon!
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-18
Updated: 2019-06-24
Packaged: 2019-09-21 19:51:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 55,607
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17049524
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LusciaKoushiro/pseuds/LusciaKoushiro
Summary: Two years after the war Keith knows there was something off between him and Shiro. He is going to find out once and for all what caused them to drift apart, but what he finds might upset the new era of peace.





	1. In My Dearest Memories

**Author's Note:**

> Okay making this clear since I hated season 8. This is a Sheith and Allurance fic so don't expect all fluffy rainbows with Curtis.

It's been one year.... One year since that sunset.... One year since Keith had witnessed those vows, those “I dos” ringing through his mind as he lands his Galran craft onto Altea's surface. “One year....” he sighs, hopping out of the pod, smoothing over his Elder Blade uniform. His braided hair swayed behind him as he walked towards the statue of his fallen friend. As he comes closer he sees the former Blue Paladin standing there, staring longingly.

 

“Lance.” Keith calls out, somewhat softly as to not startle him, but loud enough to be heard from the short distance.

 

Lance turned slowly, giving a sad smile; “Hey man...” his voice shaky. As Keith got closer, the former Red Paladin could see how bloodshot the other man's eyes were. Lance could read Keith's expression like a book, the look of wanting to ask 'how are you' rolling through his head, but clearly knowing the answer. Instead, Lance decides to break the silence; “Does it get any easier?”

 

Keith in this moment wish he could lie and say yes, but he has to be honest. He was always honest; “In truth, I don't really know...” He looked up to the statue; “I had built up so many walls after my father died, willing for strength, but in doing so I also forgot how to cry... It hadn't been until I met Shiro that those walls started to come down a little... and I found myself mourning years later... especially closer to his death.” he smiled slowly and turned to Lance; “Though the memory of losing them is sad, we celebrate them on that day. Remembering the good, so let's try to do that.”

 

Lance took a deep breath and returned the smile; “Thanks, I actually needed to hear that. How are you?”

 

“Good, been doing so much with the relief effort and been making so much progress.” He looked around; “We the first ones here?”

 

Lance nodded; “Yeah, Pidge was finishing up with her dad and should be here in a few vargas and Hunk wanted to prep some food before coming here. I guess whatever the menu is, it's going to be extra special.”

 

“And Shiro?”

 

“He's not coming...” Lance frowned.

 

“Wha-?” Keith could barely get it out, his eyes widened slightly. That was very unlike Shiro...

 

“The man has all the time in the universe now that he's retired, but can't spend one moment away from his husband...”

 

“That's not right...” Keith whispered; “This is not the Shiro I know...” He crossed his arms over his chest; “Shiro has been acting weird since we were released from the hospital...”

 

Lance raised an eyebrow; “So you're saying he's been acting weird for two years?”

 

“Yes.” came the simple reply.

 

“Keith... I know you guys drifted apart, but that happens sometimes. There was a lot going on back then.”

 

Keith tried to keep a straight face hearing that, his mind screaming; _'He does know I am talking about ME and SHIRO, right?'_   he sighed; “And what's your opinion of him now? He was your hero, right?”

 

“He's still one of my heroes, I still respect him for everything he did for us at the Garrison and what he did in the war and I am glad he was able to find love in the end of it all-” before Lance could say any more he heard a 'tch' from Keith who was gritting his teeth.

 

“I don't believe that for a second...”

 

“Believe what?” he blinked, confused; “That I still like and respe-”

 

“That he found love!” he spat out, bitter. “That relationship and marriage came out of no where...” he whispered. He could feel his blood boiling in his veins just thinking about it. He tried to keep his emotions in check, feeling hot tears stinging the back of his violet eyes; “The Shiro I know would never have stopped chasing his dreams of being among the starts. The Shiro I know would never give up his position as the Captain of the Atals, a position that lit up his goddamn face with pride and passion for some random, button pushing, ass kissing bridge flunky!”

 

“Whoa....” he held up his hands, gently moving them in a slow, petting motion, “Dude, calm down....” he said in his own calming manner; “Dreams can change at any time, even for-”

 

“Not Shiro!” he put his foot down; “Something is wrong with him... I feel it and I am going to find out what it is. Everything since we left the hospital has been off. Us not talking was just the tip of the iceberg; this man would never let anything happen to me if he could help it.” he took a deep breath; “The Shiro I know wouldn't have just stood there and let me be potentially shot or strangled by Zethrid...” he muttered; “This was the man who was ready to take on the entire Blade of Marmora to save me, to let me hold onto a piece of myself that I didn't even know what it was at the time...”

 

“Keith...”

 

He looked directly into the other man's eyes; “If you had the chance to save Allura, would you?” he asked bluntly.

 

Lance was slightly taken aback; “Th-that isn't the same thing.”

 

“I beg to differ...” he graced the fingers of his right hand to the scar on his cheek, then pointed to the markings that resided on Lance's face with the other; “You and I are both marked by love. A reminder of the one we consider everything to us and it's because of that love that I am going to make things right.”

 

Lance's eyes widened, really hearing his friend's words, now hitting very close to home. He gets it now; “I had forgotten just how close you two were.... and it does seem like he himself has forgotten... But Keith, he's married now.”

 

Keith raised a hand to stop him from speaking; “I am getting to the bottom of this. But with whatever I find out, whatever happens; if Shiro is still happy, I won't get in the way of it. But I made Shiro a promise and I intend to keep it.” he lowered his hand, though his face was serious, preparing himself for the upcoming mission he gave a soft smile; “I knew you'd be the only one to understand this. I'm sorry about Allura, I know how much you truly love and miss her.”

 

“Yeah...” he glanced at the statue solemnly before turning his gaze back to Keith and returning the smile; “But Shiro is still here. Whatever you think might be wrong, I hope you can fix it.” He held his arm up in an L shape, waiting for Keith to grasp his hand. Keith does with a firm hold. They are held like that for just a minute then let go. Before Keith parts to go back to his shuttle Lance says; “If you need anything just let us know. What do you want me to tell the others?”

 

“Tell them the truth; I'm going to find Shiro.” he says as he approaches his shuttle.

 

Lance kept his sight on the blue sky above, watching the Galran pod lift off, his friend getting ready to chase his heart among the stars.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Follow me on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/LusciaKoushiro) to see how fics are progressing! ^_^


	2. Traces of the Love

Another hour or so had passed since Keith had taken off when Hunk and Pidge arrived. Lance remained at the statue, awaiting them so they could pay their respects to his beloved. He greeted them with a wide smile; “It's good to see you guys.”

 

Hunk's smile was from ear to ear; “It's been too long, how have you been?”

 

“I wish I could say time has healed me, but I'm getting by. How about you two?”

 

“Everything has been good, but busy.” Pidge says, though excited; “The amount of advancement we have made for equipment and vehicles for the Garrison has been outstanding.”

 

Hunk nodded; “And our diplomatic efforts have been going over really well. Though I think it would be much easier with Shiro around.” He sighed; “Really wish he was coming, since he retired, no one has really heard from him.”

 

Pidge nodded; “My whole family is rather surprised by that. We even tried to get him and his husband to come over for dinner, but kept getting declined.” she frowned as she looked around. Her eyebrow quirked as she returned her attention back to Lance; “Keith not here yet?”

 

“He's...” he paused trying to think of how to say it, but decides to be direct like Keith said to be; “He's going to find Shiro.”

 

“What? You mean he went to Earth to drag him here?” Hunk asked; “They have hardly spoken in years, can he do that?”

 

Lance shook his head; “No, no. I mean, he thinks there is something wrong with him.”

 

Pidge and Hunk gave each other a questioning look then glanced back over to the former Blue Paladin, confused. Lance sighed; “It might be easier to hear it from Keith.” He nodded his head over towards the Castle of Lions; “Come on, Coran's waiting.” He walked passed them and lead the way to the castle.

 

True to his word, Coran stood at the entrance to the castle. He smiled brightly and waved gingerly to his friends; “Evening everyone-” he cut himself off, noticing it was just the three of them; “Don't tell me Keith decided not to come too...” He sighed.

 

“No, supposedly he went to find Shiro.” Pidge stated; “But not find him find him, or something.”

 

Coran blinked at her statement; “What the quiznak?” he asked quietly, confusion clearly on his face.

 

Lance gestured to the castle; “Let's contact Keith's pod, he'll explain. All I know is when he said it to me, I understood, so I'm not going to call him back here and neither should you guys.” There was a slight seriousness to Lance's voice and it didn't go unnoticed by the others, however, they remained silent as they entered the castle making their way to the familiar bridge.

 

Like it had all fallen back into place before the Castle of Lions was destroyed, everyone stood in their places, staring at the monitor as Coran made contact with that pod. “Keith, this is the Castle of Lions, do you copy?” Coran asked.

 

A moment later Keith's face appeared on the screen; “I read you, Coran. Everything okay?”

 

“Keith,” Lance says, stepping forward; “I told them what you're doing, but I can't really explain why.”

 

“What's so hard to understand? Shiro's in trouble so I am going to save him.”

 

Pidge shook her head; “But how is Shiro in trouble? Last I knew he was at home on Earth with his-”

 

“Don't!” Keith shouted, his hands gripping the wheel of the ship tighter. He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself; “Look, I know he's married, I just don't like to hear it, okay?”

 

“But that's where he is.” Hunk states.

 

Keith sighed; “And you guys don't find it funny that he just rushed into this relationship and marriage? Shiro, the man who had a plan for everything.”

 

“Sometimes, you just can't plan when you fall in love...” Coran said softly.

 

Keith sighed again; _'Don't I know it...'_   he thought. “Shiro hasn't been Shiro for awhile... ever since we- I, was released from the hospital after we crashed he's been off and I need to know why.”

 

“You said that to me earlier.” Lance said; “What did you mean? He came and visited everyone.”

 

“Yeah, and from what I was told, someone kept pulling him away from my room while I was unconscious and after I woke up he was suddenly too busy to see me.”

 

“And who told you that?”

 

“My mom. She and Kolivan were in my room when I woke up, told me Shiro was getting pulled away by someone, keeping him busy with things around the Garrison.”

 

Pidge shook her head; “He was getting promoted, Keith, of course he was going to be busy.” she stated bluntly.

 

Normally Keith would have appreciated her bluntness, but her words were like knives in the back. “Hn, you guys really don't know Shiro at all...” he muttered; “But even if that's true, when he told us to spend the day with our loved ones; I asked him if he would meet me in our spot. He smiled at me and said he would, then he was dragged away by Curtis for some matter that had to do with the Atlas, so he told me he would meet me there. Guess who never showed?”

 

Lance blinked; “Wait... was that when you were watching the sunset? You were waiting for Shiro?”

 

“Yep.” he paused as he avoided some oncoming asteroids; “Let's not forget when we went down for Clear Day.”

 

“As I recall, you were kind of against having some fun.” Hunk reminded him; “You even broke one of their rides.”

 

“And looking back on that now, even I was off. Yes, I questioned why we were there if we weren't meant for protection, but normally I would have followed Shiro, taking his word that it was for morale. We had gone to a carnival every year when I entered the Garrison, before the Kerberos mission, it would have been like old times, just like it would have been if we watched the sunset. But no, I for some reason followed him and then wandered off.”

 

“You also mentioned Zethrid to me.” Lance said after a few minutes to let everything else sink in; “What happened on that planet?”

 

“The poison got the better of me I suppose, ultimately she overwhelmed me and held me hostage. Shiro and Acxa were there and Acxa was trying to talk her down. Shiro just stood there with his gun partially raised... and what was he doing with a pistol anyway? He has a fucking floating arm? He could have easily done a sneak attack with it and the Shiro I know would have thought of something like that if Zethrid was distracted.”

 

“But you were in serious danger...” Pidge added.

 

Keith shook his head; “As I said to Lance, that wouldn't have mattered. Shiro would have found a way to save me and protect me. He was willing to take on Kolivan and the rest of the Blades for me. You can't expect me to believe that he would just stand there standing like a mindless puppet.”

 

There was another round of silence from the Paladins in the Castle. Coran idly stood by the console, twisting his mustache between his middle finger and thumb; “Hm...” he lingered on the pause, pondering. When he looked up to the screen again Keith could see concern in his eyes; “You might be on to something...”

 

“Since the day I took Shiro's hand we had been close. He's my best friend, he told me everything; his hopes, his DREAMS. His dreams don't just change for the sake of change, they evolve... adding to them. And you'd think as his best friend he would have told me first that he was getting married... or that he was dating him in the first place for that matter.” he paused again, bringing up his coordinates for his destination; “If you look at their wedding photos I'm not really in them. I am either cut off or hidden. I wasn't even asked to be his best man... It's like I was being erased...”

 

“Keith, when did you start to think something was wrong?” Coran asked.

 

“Not long after the wedding. We had grown apart all through the end of the war and at the wedding I originally didn't think anything of it, it wasn't until I was back on Daibazaal that I felt something, but every time I tried to think about it, it was like my brain was in some kind of fog.” he paused again, to stir the craft back on course as it seemed he drifted slightly; “I started having dreams, nightmares even.” He explained; “About everything I have ever been through with him. Every time I would see him smile this dark shadow would just devour the image. Those shadows became more intense with everything I started to remember.” He closed his eyes for a few seconds as he mentally pictured his fight at the cloning facility, that same shadow engulfing the image into darkness when all he could hear was his own voice, desperately saying _“I love you.”_ He took a breath; “There's been a buzzing in my head ever since. Something... something is telling me to search the Celevieon System.”

 

The others inside the castle stood silently, looking towards each other; confused and questioning quietly. “The Shiro we know, wouldn't have someone else tell us he can't make it...” Pidge whispered. She placed a hand to her head.

 

“Come to think of it...” Lance pondered; “It wasn't Shiro himself who said he wasn't able to come today.”

 

“The Shiro we know, would want to be here.” Coran stated, his voice barely above a whisper. He turned his attention back to Keith; “How far out are you now?”

 

“I'm roughly two quintants out. I am rendezvousing with my mother at a new Marmora outpost not far from there.”

 

“Alright.” Coran breathed, his expression serious, but gentle; “Please be careful, Keith. Whatever you find, please let us know or if you need any assistance.”

 

“I will.” He paused for a moment, taking the time to give a glance to each one of them through his screen, he gives them a smile before ending the communication.

 

Hunk stared as the screen blipped off, rubbing his temples; “It's weird. It feels like I... like I know how something happened, but not why...”

 

Lance nodded; “Erased, just as Keith said.” He lifted his right hand, gently grazing his fingers along the Altean markings that graced his cheeks. After a minute or two he looked to his friends; “Let's get ready to have dinner...” his words were heavy as they left his lips, his eyes sad as he wandered out of the castle.

 

***

 

As fast as he could fly, Keith made it to the outpost, landing his craft in the hanger. His wolf darted towards him as he hopped out. Thankfully Kosmo didn't pounce on him like he had when he was a pup and just knelt his head down so his master could reach and give him a pet and a scratch; “It's good to see you too, buddy.” Keith says, looking just passed his animal companion to see his mother slowly approaching.

 

“What is this urgent mission about?” she questions, getting straight to the point.

 

Keith sighed; “Do you remember what we saw in the Quantum Abyss?”

 

“We saw a lot of things, Keith.” She crossed her arms over her chest, “You're gonna have to be more specific.”

 

“You know which one I'm talking about.”

 

She let out a sigh of her own; “Keith... You know some of the things we saw might not come-”

 

“It was, I KNOW it was going to.” his voice was defensive, more than he really had meant it to be towards his mother, but lately for him, it felt like all he has been doing was going on the defensive.

 

“Keith...” she said softly, lowering her arms to her sides, approaching him. Once close enough she placed a hand on his shoulder, looking him in the eye with a mother's gaze; the look of love and worry. “I agree with everything you have said to me about Shiro; then and now, but the fact is, he is married to someone else.”

 

“The was supposed to be me next to him...” he subconsciously balled his hands into fists.

 

Krolia hated seeing her son like this, it had been almost a year when this all started; the nightmares, the theories. Something almost akin to obsession, one that at first frightened him into burying himself into his work, costing him many sleepless nights, but she assumed that was intentional. But now there was something different in the way he was defending himself, the way he sounded positive; sure of himself. She tightened her grip on his shoulder; “I know, the scene was almost the exact way we saw it and I know it hurts to think this, but I need you to think rationally. If you go through all of this, just like you have done many times before for him and he is still happy with his husband, will you be able to step aside?”

 

He gently took hold of her wrist and removed it from his shoulder; “I won't have to, because I know Shiro.” there was no wavering in his voice. He looked deep into her purple eyes, showing her he was willing to fight for this; “As many times as it takes... that's what I promised him. I will save him.”

 

She knows when her son has made up his mind. She retracted the arm that he had a hold of, only to hold his hand lovingly, yet firm. She took a deep breath; “Then let's get going.”

 

Keith gave a nod and blinked back into his pod with his large wolf's assistance. Krolia took her own ship, following her son's lead. Once out in space Keith opened a channel to her ship; “Just make sure to follow a little ways back, just in case of a retreat. I don't know what we'll find, but have the Garrison on standby for a wormhole to Earth.”

 

***

 

True to his estimate, Keith and Krolia reached the Celevieon System in roughly two days. He glanced at his navigation systems, looking to see if anything had been picked up.

 

“Do you see anything?” he hears his mother ask.

 

“Not yet, but...” he pauses, taking a look outside the windows; “I feel something, like something weighing on my chest.” He presses forward.

 

After a few more hours of flying, Keith sees something in the distance. “Hm...” he leans forward, trying to bring whatever it is on screen.

 

“Keith? Do you see something?”

 

“The star clusters... It looks like Allu-” he's cuts himself off when he hears a distinct roar. His violet eyes go wide as he becomes face to face with the Red and Black Lions. He smiles at the sight; “So this is where you took off to.” he says, but his smile soon fades.

 

“Keith. Keith, what's happening?”

 

Keith could barely comprehend himself as he looked at the two lions before him, with the vague images of Yellow and Green coming in behind them as well. He stared, the yellow of their eyes are off somehow; dim and vacant. Dark shadows began to leak out like wispy threads, they growl, opening their maws. Keith's eyes widen again, pulling up and back on his controls; “Retreat!” he shouts, turning around as the Red and Black Lions fire.

 

“Black, what are you doing, it's me!” he calls, flying his damnedest; weaving through each blast.

 

“Keith!” Krolia calls out.

 

“It's the Lions, they're here, but something isn't right.”

 

“The Lions?!” she exclaimed.

 

“They're attacking, I don't know what's wrong.” he dodged a couple more blasts, but his sensors soon caught sight of Green and Yellow following close; “Where's that wormhole, Mom?”

 

“Wormhole will open in about thirty tics.”

 

He pushed his craft to its limit, to assure he would make the jump in time. A low growl slowly entered his mind, the presents of darkness making its way to him. Keith took in a few sharp breaths, beginning to gasp in pain as something started pulling him.

 

“Keith? Keith, what's happening?!” All Krolia can hear is her son gasping through painful and anguished screams; “Keith!”

 

His vision is blurred, but he makes out the wormhole appearing just beyond his mother's ship; “Get out of here...” he chokes out. A loud, booming roar echoed through his head, he screams once more, his body now limp at the controls.

 

The Lions now line up, their sights on Keith's ship.

 

“Keith!!”

 

Kosmo quickly nuzzles his head to Keith's hand and teleports him to Krolia's ship. His mother watches in horror as she witnesses the Lions destroy her son's vessel. They then had her in their sight, getting ready for another blast. As fast as she could muster, she threw her ship into hyper speed and sped through the wormhole, the hole closing just in time for the beam from the beasts to pass through empty space.

 

Keith groans, slowly opening his eyes, setting his violet gaze on nothing but the blue of skies and the puff and wisps of clouds, something he would akin to Heaven if he had to describe it. He groans again, placing a hand to his head as he could feel it buzzing. He let his eyes focus, seeing something or rather someone just beyond him. He takes a few steps forward, letting a small gasp escape through his lips as he sees the familiar flow of long, white hair; “Allura?”

 

The princess turns at the sound of her name, a bright smile on her face. “Keith!” she exclaims, bounding over and embracing him, catching him off guard. “It's so good to see you, but why are you out here?”

 

He's silent, moving out of her embrace, thinking. He's not even sure where here is, but decides to go with the phrasing of 'out here', meaning the Celevieon System. He tells her about how everything, till the very last moments of her life and there after have seemed off. About his memories being hazy, about how it seems as if certain things have been erased from their world.

 

She smiles fondly, reassuring him; “Keith, yours and Shiro's love saved us and all realities.”

 

Keith can't believe his ears, not just by her words, but in which the calmness she says them; “What does that mean?”

 

“We needed a price to pay to mend everything and your bond was deeper than the others...”

 

“You... you took our memories?!” even if it was for the sake of all realities, Keith couldn't hide his oncoming outrage; “You just took away what we had? Our happiness?!”

 

“We knew the risks...”

 

“But we didn't... you took something that wasn't-” he balled his hands into fists and adverted his gaze from her, hoping his eyes were hidden behind his bangs; “We were your family...” his voice was shaky.

 

“You are not my family...” the voice shifted, not sounding like the elegant princess anymore.

 

Keith snaps his attention back to her, Allura's eyes glowing a bright and eerie yellow. The image before him starts to flicker, like a malfunctioning screen as it begins to alter and shift into Honerva. Her hand raised, a crackling black and purple energy emitting from her hand. With a shrill shriek, she fired the blast at Keith. Quickly he rolled out of the way of the blast, reaching to his back removing his mother's knife and transformed it into its true form.

 

“I will not allow you to destroy this perfect world!!” She hisses. The essence of the Black Lion landing behind her. It roared and as Keith looked around, Red, Yellow and Green now surrounded him too; there was no where to run, no way out. They open their maws; powering up.

 

It was another blur to Keith as he watched the energy building into the jaws of the lions, Honerva's attack growing along side them, when he felt something wrap around his ankle then suddenly drag him down through the sea of blue and clouds from where he once stood.

 

He landed with a audible “Oof”, groaning as he got to his feet. He looked around, this was a place he knew; infinite space. Galaxies painted in reds and purples, an eclipse off in the distance. He was in the Astral Plane. He glanced down to his feet, feeling the strain that was wrapped around it loosen. He let out a small gasp as he watched the glowing, blue line of a whip retract. Slowly and cautiously he lifted his head to follow it and in front of him stood Allura. She stared at him, her eyes full of sorrow as she says; “I'm so sorry, Keith...”

 

Back on Earth, Shiro sat in a large armchair within his home; sitting back against the cushion as he read the newspaper. Everything was fine, normal, until the buzzing in his head started. Searing pain making it's way to the front of his head, behind his eyes, like a migraine. He dropped the paper to the floor as he gasped in pain. He removed his glasses with his prosthetic hand and pinched between his eyes with his human one. His gray eyes closed tight; “Why? Why does this keep happening...”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Follow me on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/LusciaKoushiro) to see how fics are progressing! ^_^


	3. Do You Remember Loving Me?

“Allura?” Keith breathes out, almost hesitant. He watches for a moment, assessing what he is seeing. Following his instincts he moved closer; “Allura, what's going on?”

 

“Honerva...” she took a deep breath, trying to fight off her tears as she held her gaze on her friend; “After everything... she couldn't let go of her hatred of you, of Shiro... We watched as everything was being mended, then when it came to our reality, she said she wanted to bring back which was lost in the war...” she wrapped her arms around herself, her tears beginning to fall; “She said that if she couldn't be happy with her family, than she would at least make sure you two suffered.”

 

Keith's eyes went wide, watching the princess fall to her knees as she sobbed. He closed the gap between them, kneeling down and placing a gentle hand onto her shoulder.

 

“I never meant for this to happen...” she cried; “I thought it was the only way... I wanted to save my family... save Altea... but not like this...”

 

It was hard not to be angry, but deep down Keith also knew that everyone else, including Allura had suffered because of this twisted form of revenge. He tightened his grip, hoping his voice would come out soft and not biting as he said; “What about the Lions? What happened to them? How did they know to come here?”

 

“They found me...” she removed herself from the self hug, placing a hand onto Keith's wrist.

 

“Found you...” Keith repeated.

 

“I could feel them when they were close, it was like they wanted to bring me home...” she clenched her eyes shut, her voice hurt; “But Honerva was waiting, as if she knew they would come. The Entity was growing stronger alongside her... within her... And one by one, the light from the Lions went out, succumbing to darkness, their Quintessence had been corrupted...” her voice dropped, her attention shifting towards a large essence that rested a couple feet away; “Blue was the only one who made it to me, she's been protecting me ever since.”

 

“Sounds like your bond is still in tact.” he said with a reassuring smile. There was slight pause as he pondered; “Hmm... maybe they honed into our desires to see you again, especially Lance. Blue was the one that took charge when they flew off.” He looked to his left to towards the Blue Lion; “The bonds we had to our Lions should still be there as well, maybe we can override that darkness somehow...”

 

The thought was cut short as the area around them slowly started to be engulfed in shadows. Keith helped Allura to her feet as they watched with keen eyes. He swore he felt a chill as it seeped towards them. His eyes go wide in surprise as he watched the shadows split apart and move along the ground, forming into different shaped monsters; some two legged, some with four or eight, some with wings and claws, others with giant maws and fangs. All with glowing yellow eyes that had that same wispy darkness seeping out of the sides that the lions had. Keith and Allura backed up a little towards the Lion as the shadows inched closer. Keith put himself in front of the Princess, allowing her to regain her wits about herself; “Get ready.” He commanded with some understanding.

 

He took out his knife, it transforming once unsheathed. An unsettling tingle ran down his spine as multiple, raspy voices echoed through the void; “Quintessence....” Taking a deep breath, Keith ran forward, taking on the oncoming corruptions.

 

The incoming distress call and emergency wormhole had the Garrison in a buzz and flurry of people. Medical personal rushed to the landing strip and hangers with the Paladins close in toe. Their eyes grew wide and gasps escaped a few of them as they laid their sights on Keith. Their former leader had his eyes shut, sweat flowing freely down his forehead and cheeks as he thrashed about. The doctors managed to strap him down onto a stretcher, but they feared that wouldn't hold the half-Galra for long.

 

One of the men looked over to Hunk; “You look like you have some strength in you, help hold him down while we move him to the medical wing.” He ordered.

 

Hunk gave a nervous nod as he approached. Gentle at first, placed his hands on Keith's right arm and leg, tightening his grip to hold them firmly in place on the stretcher; “You're gonna be okay, buddy...” he whispered as he moved along side the doctors.

 

Krolia watched with worried eyes, Kosmo sitting next to her letting out a tiny whine as they watched them move Keith from sight. Lance and Pidge stared on as well, the former Blue Paladin trying to hide his emotions, but his voice wavered, betraying him; “What happened to him?”

 

Krolia held a hand to her chest, pain of seeing her child in such a way clearly taking its toll; “I'm not sure, it all happened so fast. We made it to the Celevieon System and the next thing I know we were attacked by the Lions...”

 

“The Lions?!” Pidge and Lance exclaimed. They saw her nod, but she didn't say anymore.

 

“What would they be doing out there?” Lance questioned.

 

Pidge shook her head; “No idea, but the Lions don't do anything without reason. Maybe my dad has some insight from the old data that was stored from the Castle of Lions.” she motioned towards the Garrison medical building; “Lets head inside.” As they walked she took out her data pad and contacted her father.

 

Once inside the medical building they were escorted to a private sector, a single door swooshed open revealing a moderate hallway that lined with equipment and medication to the left. On their right stood Hunk looking through a window into the adjacent room. The patient room was on the large side with everything one should need in a hospital; the typical hospital bed, chairs to the side for visitors, a closet, bathroom. But there were no windows looking to the outside as the Paladins and Keith's mother watched the man still thrash about against his restraints Hunk let out a heavy sigh; “I hate that he's down here... He's not a criminal...”

 

Krolia reached forward, placing a hand on the glass with a gentle touch; “Maybe...” she breathed in, her voice almost betraying her normal tough exterior; “Maybe, we should contact Shiro.”

 

The three Paladins looked to each other, silently conversing on the idea. Ultimately they nodded. Hunk left with Lance to go make the call to the retired Atlas Captain with Pidge following close to go speak with her father and assist in finding some sort of clue about the Lions. Krolia stayed in the hallway, her hands never moving from the glass or her heart as she watched her son struggle; “Please... please be okay...” she whispered, her words only reaching Kosmo's ears, a single tear rolled down her cheek. The wolf watched Keith for a brief moment, then looked to Krolia. He nuzzled her arm that was out stretched to the glass then poofed from her sight.

 

“Kosmo?”

 

Shiro still seated in his armchair, leaned forward with his head in his hands. His glasses have since been discarded to the small table that resided next him. He grunted in pain, shielding his eyes from the light and groaned a few seconds later as a wave of nausea hit him.

 

“Takashi...” came a whisper. Shiro moved his hands to see his husband kneeling in front of him, a concerned look on his face; “Another headache?” he asked gently.

 

“Yeah...” came the pained answer. Curtis moved up to stand to Shiro's left and helped him stand up from the chair; “Why don't you go lay down?”

 

“It feels like all I have been doing since I retired is lie down.” he sighed out, frustration clearly coming through; “Ever since I retired-”

 

“Now, you know that's not true. But you also know you can't help being sick.” Curtis adjusted to help keep Shiro's balance; “Now lets get you to bed so you can rest.”

 

Shiro was about to protest when another wave of pain came crashing against the back of his eyes. Quickly he raised his prosthetic hand to his head. Reluctantly, he slowly nodded, allowing his husband to guide him out of the living room. They had only taken a few steps towards the entry way when the phone rang; Shiro being the closer of the two went to reach for it, but was abruptly stopped by Curits; “I got it, Takashi. You go rest.”

 

“Curtis, I am completely capable of answering a phone.” He winced at the sound the phone was making, a little too loud for his head to handle.

 

“Rest.” came the stern order. He let go of Shiro and watched as the white haired man sighed in defeat, leaving the living room. Once Shiro was out of sight, he picked up the receiver; “Shirogane residence.”

 

Shiro stood on the other side of the entry way wall, leaning against it. _'Why does this keeping happening?'_ He thought closing his eyes tight, willing the pain away; _'Ever since we got married, I have been doing less and less... I retired, but why?'_ He raised his human hand to his face, pinching the bridge of his nose, just above his scar; _'Sick he said... This isn't sick... Sick was when-'_ The pain increased again, his face showing the pain he felt, but he remained silent. His attention diverted back to the phone call in the other room as he hears;

 

“Oh Keith is injured?”

 

 _'Keith?'_ Shiro thought, that was a name he hadn't heard or thought of in almost a year.

 

“No, Takashi can't come to the Garrison.” his voice seemed to shift from being soothing to annoyed.

 

Shiro wanted to jump back in and ask why the hell not, but he stayed grounded and continued to listen.

 

“Look, I know he and Takashi were co-leaders during the war, but Takashi isn't well and is staying here.” he wasn't yelling, but his tone definitely insinuated that he wanted to.

 

Shiro didn't need to hear anymore. “Keith...” he whispered. Slowly he pulled himself off the wall, grabbing the keys that rested on the hook by the door and as quietly as he could he snuck out the front, with the intention of driving to the Garrison. Once he was fully outside, the door closing with a soft click, the white haired man almost jumped out of his skin as he became face to face with Keith's space wolf. Shiro flinched for a second as the animal moved into his space, giving a happy whine, licking Shiro's cheek. Shiro smiled, giving Kosmo a pat on the head; “Hey... did you come to bring me to Keith?” he asked, wincing again.

 

Kosmo nuzzled against him once more, hoping to provide an answer and comfort. The wolf then lifted his head, turning his attention to the house. Shiro looked back quickly to the door then back to the wolf; “Take me to him.” he said, no wavering in his voice. To him, it was the most sure he has been of any decision he has made in a long while. With the blink of an eye they teleported away.

 

The Paladins were back next to Krolia in the hallway, staring once again through the glass. Keith had thankfully stopped his thrashing about, but remained strapped down just in case it would happen again.

 

“It was weird, I don't ever remember Shiro's husband being so annoyed before.” Lance commented, his arms folded across his chest.

 

“Co-leader... that's what he called him, right?” Hunk said, chiming in; “That's really how they came off at the end, isn't it?”

 

“But we know the truth...” Pidge said firmly; “Facts are facts. And the fact is, something is messing with us.”

 

The door to the hall whooshed open, causing four sets of eyes to shift towards it. They all widen in surprise as they see Shiro standing there next to Kosmo. Shiro stepped through first with the wolf close in toe. Lance looked him up and down; the sweater and khakis he wore really didn't suit him, his hair was a tad shorter in the front; his usual floof gone and it hadn't looked like he had shaved in a couple days. His complexion was on the pale side and the dark circles forming under his eyes were sticking out more in comparison to his white hair; “You look like hell...”

 

“I feel like hell, but a headache isn't going to keep me away.” he commented back as he moved to stand next to Keith's mother, looking through the window; “What happened to him?”

 

The Paladins looked to each other again before Pidge sighed; “We, don't really know...” She looked down to her data pad, but heaved a heavier sigh as no new information had come through from her father; “Shiro, what do you remember? About the war or about Keith?” she was straight forward, but she tried to remain gentle.

 

“Sadly... not much. I remember everything at the end, but before that...” He could feel the pain coming from behind his eyes again, he pinched the spot between his eyes again and balance himself on the window; “I can't remember anything really from before...”

 

“Do you remember being the Black Paladin?” Pidge asked.

 

“Vaguely...” he sighed; “It is how I was introduced in the arm wrestling match, but I don't really recall BEING a Paladin...”

 

“What about Keith? Do you remember bringing him to the Garrison?” asked Hunk.

 

There was a long pause as he looked through the window, the sad realization seeping through his voice; “No...” he heard the gasps and turned to face them; “But I feel like I need to be here. That I need to be with him...” he pulled himself off the wall and proceeded towards the door that entered to Keith's room itself with Kosmo following close behind.

 

“I'm going to see if they can move my son out of this cell. Strapping him down is one thing, but he most certainly doesn't deserve to be down here.” Krolia stated turning on her heels to exit the hallway.

 

Pidge gave a quick glance to her data pad then looked back through the window; “I think I'll go help my dad for a little bit.” she says, making her way to the door.

 

Lance could only stare through the window, watching Shiro stand at the foot of Keith's bed. None of them knew what to expect when they saw Shiro, but his heart ached for him; “I know our memories are screwed up, but I can't imagine what it's like for him...”

 

Hunk gave a nod; “From the sounds, Keith was the same way.” He placed a hand on Lance's shoulder; “Let's give them some time alone.”

 

“Yeah... we should probably contact Coran and let him know what's up.” He turned his head to face Hunk and saw him nod. With that the two silently left the hallway.

 

Shiro sits in one of the near by chairs, taking a hold of Keith's hand. Kosmo lays on the floor, at the foot of the bed, but his eyes remained on Shiro. The former Captain gently caressed the other man's knuckles, feeling his heart sink seeing him laying in a hospital bed, like he had seen him like this before...

 

_It felt like the days into nights and the nights into days just blended into one another; both at a quickened pace as if someone had pressed fast forward and slow due to each second that ticked by was another second of Keith not waking up. Shiro sat in a chair next to Keith's bedside, watching the rise and fall of his chest within his slumber. His steel like eyes saddened as he gazed upon the bandages that laced his body, especially the one that wrapped around his head._

 

_Doctors and nurses filter in and out, checking in on their patient, but also the Captain. And then late one night, a gentle hand touches his shoulder; “You should really get some rest, Captain.” he whispers._

 

_Slowly Shiro shifted his gaze, adjusting how he sat slightly to see Curtis there with a smile. “Thank you for the concern.” Shiro managed gently, his grip tightening on Keith's hand; “But I am staying here till he awakens.”_

 

“ _I respect that, Sir, but everyone is really worried about you...” there was a small pause, Curtis bending down to be just about Shiro's ear as he whispered; “At least come with me for a cup of coffee, catch a breather.”_

 

_Shiro turned his attention back to Keith, giving the hand another squeeze; “Coffee sounds like a good idea...” He stood from his chair; “I'll be right back Keith.” he raised the hand to his lips, placing a soft kiss upon the back of it before setting it back down. He straightened his uniform jacket, making himself somewhat presentable and walked out of the room with Curtis close behind._

 

_As the days went on, the nights seemed to have that familiar pattern; Shiro would work out of Keith's room, with the crew electing Curtis to go in and talk some sense into him about taking breaks and time for himself to the nights where he just stay with Keith's hand in his with Curtis coming in only to whisk him away with the reasoning of coffee and decompression of the situation. Till one night where he just sat there, staring at the sleeping form. Shiro's eyes were cloudy, almost like he couldn't make sense of anything and of course Curtis was there, taking his hand in his, pulling him from his chair; “Time for you to get back to work, Captain...”_

 

Shiro's grip on Keith's hand tightened, his head screaming at him in pain.

 

_More days had passed and word of Keith awakening had reached his ears. The day of, he was getting ready to dash to the medical wing, but was halted as he literally ran into Curtis. Being the kind man that he is, Shiro assisted the man back to his feet and pick up the fluttering mass of papers that sprawled onto the floor; “I am so sorry.” he apologized._

 

“ _It's okay, I was just running these reports to you.”_

 

_Reports... right, he was the Captain. The wants and needs of others around him out weighed his own. Keith would understand, right? “Ah, are those the diagnostics from the Atlas transformation?” he received a nod. Shiro resisted the urge to sigh, holding onto some of the papers and gestured towards his office; “I guess we should get started...”_

 

Shiro breathed heavily, the pain increasing.

 

“ _Shiro!” Keith called, sprinting down on of the hallways of the Garrison to catch up with his friend after their meeting. He watched the white haired Captain stop his movements, glancing back at him with a smile._

 

“ _Oh, hi, Keith.”_

 

_Keith blinked at the greeting, but shrugged it off when he stopped; “Hey.” he paused awkwardly, as if trying to form his next thought properly; “You think you and I could hang out? Ya know, like we used to?”_

 

_The smile became something more familiar, almost like something between just the two of them; “I'd like that, did you have something in mind?”_

 

“ _I was thinking maybe...” his cheeks began to turn a soft shade of pink; “we could take Black out into the desert and watch the sunset in our spot.”_

 

“ _That sounds great-”_

 

“ _Captain!” a voice calls out, cutting him off. Shiro and Keith both look into the direction from behind the Captain to see Curtis running through the people waving a data pad in the air; “I have the check list you wanted for the Atlas.” he says, stopping before Shiro._

 

_Shiro took the tablet from the other man, scrolling down the list briefly before lifting his gaze to look into his friend's violet eyes; “I'll meet you there, okay? This shouldn't take long.”_

 

_Keith smiled; “Can't wait.”_

 

Shiro pulled his hand back, grunting in pain as the pressure behind his eyes washed over him, placing the palm of his human hand to his forehead; “Why? Why did he keep pulling me away?” he furrowed his brow; “It couldn't have been just work, could it?” slowly he retracted his hand from his forehead, reaching out for the other man again; “Keith... tell me... help me, please...” he took hold of the hand again.

 

Breathless Keith and Allura stood in the middle of the void, the Blue Lion seated behind them. The two Paladins put their weapons away as the shadows were now gone. They stood in silence for a few moments when Keith's attention perks up, hearing a voice echoing in the distance calling his name. Keith calls back; “I'm here! Shiro...”

 

Allura gazed at him questioningly, there was no one around but them. Not in sight nor sound.

 

“Keith...” Shiro's low voice pierced through the former Red Paladin again. It felt like forever since Keith has heard his name in that voice.

 

Keith took a few steps forward, towards where he felt like the voice was coming from, looking in all directions as he moved. Allura followed him with her gaze, a look of concern on her face; “Keith, there's nothing here.” she says; “Shiro's-” she cut her self off when she sees him stop.

 

He shut his eyes, his fists clenched, he took a deep breath before he called out; “SHIRO!!”

 

And like a tsunami, everything seemed to come crashing into the front of Shiro's mind. Images flashed rapidly, in each one he could hear Keith's voice, see his face, feel his touch and body heat entering his space.

 

“ _It's good to have you back.” Keith says, hand resting on Shiro's shoulder as they stood outside of his shack in the desert._

 

“ _It's good to be back.”_

 

_Shiro stood next to a large, masked Galra, watching as a projected version of himself tried to convince Keith that he could give up his fight. The Galra's deep, manipulated voice explained the image he was seeing, that Keith was seeing his greatest hope and fear, adding; “And at this moment, your friend desperately wants to see you.”_

 

_Shiro and Keith clasp hands together and move into the others space, embracing each other tenderly. A sense of letting the other know that they are there for each other and that everything will be all right._

 

_Shiro sat on his bed, his eyes down cast as Keith stood close by, his arms folded across his chest. The conversation was confusing at best with his memories hazy. Keith had turned on his heels to head back to the others, but stopped as Shiro spoke up; “How many times are you going to have to save me before this is over?” he smirked._

 

_Keith smiled back at him, something genuine and kind. Shiro knows he means it when he hears; “As many times as it takes.”_

 

He loses his grip on Keith's hand, rushing both palms to his head. He screams as the pain intensifies, knocking himself out of the chair and onto his knees. The nausea hits him again, his stomach churned as more and more images flashed in his mind. He groaned, attempting to crawl towards the waste bin that resided under the nightstand. He reached it and felt himself gag as he heard a voice echo through his mind, one that was and also wasn't his own. Something evil and sinister in his tone;

 

“ _Hello, Keith...”_

 

“ _Shiro, it's going to be okay... we just need to get back to the Castle.” Keith's voice was shaken, worried._

 

Shiro breathed heavily above the waste bin, dry heaving at first, but then began vomiting as the images became more intense.

 

“ _We are not going anywhere!” he states, dashing forward with the intent to harm- to kill his friend._

 

Shiro's grip tightened around the bin, tears in his eyes. More bile came up and it was hard to breathe. This couldn't be him he was seeing he wanted to think, but everything was familiar as nightmare-ish as it was.

 

“ _Shiro, I know you're in there... You made a promise once, you told me you'd never give up on me!” Keith's voice was desperate, pleading._

 

“ _And I should have abandoned you, just like your parents did. They saw you were broken... Worthless! I should have seen it too!” his voice was biting, but Keith never wavered._

 

“ _I'm not leaving here without you...”_

 

Shiro's heaving continued. He could vaguely make out the hurried footsteps clacking against the the floor behind him and Kosmo's whine of concern and movement to stand near him.

 

_Shiro stood above Keith, his eyes murderous as he glares down at his prey; attempting to push past Keith's blade and strike him down. The Red Paladin struggled against Shiro's brute strength; his eyes pleading, his voice desperate and breaking; “Shiro, please... you're my brother...” there was a slight pause, as if the next thing that left Keith's mouth seemed to touch Shiro's heart, if only for a brief second. The desperation in Keith's voice said it all; a last ditch effort._

 

Shiro's eyes went wide as he gasped for air.

 

“ _I love you.”_

 

Shiro was shaking, sharp and shallow breaths escaping from his entire being. “Wha-what was...” he stammered, unsure what he had just seen. _'That wasn't me, was it? Could I ever... am I capable of...'_ his mind wondered.

 

Kosmo let out a growl, looking like he wanted to pounce as Curtis ran to Shiro's side; “Takashi!” Shiro's eyes are still centered ahead of him, his arms still clutching the waste bin that he doesn't hear him at first. “Takashi, are you okay? I told you not to leave!” Shiro starts to focus on the voice, sweat dripping down his face. “Takashi.” Curtis reached his hand out, only to have it slapped away.

 

Shiro's brow furrows, his glare intense; “Don't call me that.” he growls.

 

Curtis heaved a heavy sigh, displeased by the display his husband was presenting as he watched Shiro slowly remove himself from the waste bin and floor to sit with Keith again. Curtis reached out once more, this time making contact with Shiro's human arm; “You need to rest.” he said harshly; “He doesn't need you.”

 

Shiro feels the pain coming from behind his eyes again. Blurry memories of the times Curtis was there with him when Keith wasn't; all the late nights, all the comfort when he felt alone and lost.

 

Keith held his gaze to the sky above, it scattered in dawn as it mixed between the heaven of blue and clouds with the colors and stars of night from the Astral Plane. Allura approached him, a hand on his shoulder; “Keith?”

 

“He's fighting... I can feel it...” he closed his eyes; “I won't give up on you...”

 

Sighing in defeat, Shiro relents with a nod. His head is pounding once more and honestly he felt he couldn't take another rush of those images. His body felt weak, fragile from the convulsing of his stomach moments ago. Kosmo snarled, his stance lowered to even more of an attack position. “It's okay...” Shiro said to him; “It'll be all right, buddy...”

 

Curtis placed a hand to his husband's back and lead him out of the room. Once they turned into the hallway, Shiro pivoted to look through the glass. The hand that was on his back shifted to his shoulder, Curtis now whispering in his ear; “Just give up on him, Takashi... You don't have to fight anymore, remember? Give up...”

 

Something in Shiro's head seemed to trigger at the words 'give up'; his eyes widened and that hazy feeling that was once there seemed to dissolve and a spark had been reignited. He slapped the hand away, taking a few steps away from his husband, glaring at him; “That is the one thing I would never do...” he said in a low tone.

 

Curtis scoffed, turning to face Shiro, his eyes intense though vacant beneath the glowing yellow hue. The wispy shadows forth coming from his entire being; “Forever the heart of the Champion...” His voice shifted, turning feminine and cold. Shiro knew that voice...

 

-Haggar-

 

Shiro took a shuttering breath, his eyes narrowing as Curtis moved towards him. He could feel his mind pulling, struggling against the memory; fighting against outright panic as he began to recall his time in the arena. He took a few more steps back for each one Curtis advanced with. His gray eyes frantically looked around the hall and into Keith's room hoping something could ward this being off. That's when he saw it; the glow of his arm, his reflection in the glass. Something was different, he knew, deep in his heart he knew he was not the same from when he fought for his life in the pits. A soft voice filled his mind, reminding him of something she had learned while she presented him this gift; _“The power to create...”_ she had said. He breathed in, catching a glimpse of Keith; _“The power to protect...”_ he thought. He adverted his attention back to Curtis, his eyes shielding the panic that was still inside him, but there was a new found determination there; “You're right... I am the Champion.” He lunged forward, getting ready to throw the first punch with all the strength he could muster into his prosthetic arm.

 

There was a smirk playing on Curtis' face as he weaved through each punch and kick, but Shiro never relented. With each punch he threw, his whole heart was in it. Everything he lost could be felt in just the swing. But Curtis too was fueled, fueled by anger, by vengeance. The shadows looped around his arm, solidifying into something akin to a shield that when Shiro lunged again he was hit square into the ribs and stomach, flinging him back towards the door.

 

The lights flickered and crackled, until the bulbs burst; casting everything in darkness more and more shadows moved along the floors and walls, only one small illumination aside from Shiro's arm emitted right away, was a faint blue glow coming from Keith's body.

 

“Quintessence...” Curtis hissed. Shiro's eyes went wide as he saw a large amount of energy building into the palm of the being before him, as the sounds of Keith's screams filled the hallway.

 

On the Astral Plan, Keith fell to his knees, gasping for air then outright screaming in pain.

 

“Keith!” Allura exclaimed, losing her grip on him when he sunk down. She went to reach out and touch him again, but felt something odd, something that burned and shocked her, causing her to quickly retract her hand; “Keith, what's happening?”

 

“Shiro please...” he begged, “It's like I'm being torn apart...” he screamed again.

 

It felt like time was slowing down, as the energy blast released from Curtis' hand, heading straight towards Shiro, just as he was regaining his balance. Before he knew it Kosmo appeared just in front of him. He grabbed onto his fur and teleported behind his enemy, watching the blast slam right into the door; damaging it and trapping them in the hall.

 

“Thank you.” Shiro said to the wolf. Kosmo gave a whine as a 'you're welcome' before going back into his battle stance, ready to pounce with a growl. Shiro's back in a fighting stance too as Curtis turns to face them. Shiro touches Kosmo's fur again, once more moving them within a flash, transporting them just above the other man, Shiro coming down fiercely with his Altean arm.

 

Curtis only managed to move an inch to his left, getting grazed as Shiro came down, adjusting his prostetic to send him back from the force that protruded his shoulder. Kosmo blinked again, after dropping his companion. His growl was heard as he chomped down on Curtis' right arm.

 

“Filthy beast.” he hissed, as if Kosmo weighed nothing at all, he flung the wolf off like a rag doll towards the wall, the animal slamming into the case of pills with a whimper. The dark energy crackles again as he fires multiple blasts towards the former Black Paladin.

 

Quick on his feet Shiro dashed towards Curtis, dodging and weaving through each burst. Picking up enough speed, he moved to the wall, pushing himself up and off of it, going in for a hard kick to Curtis' jaw. The force again pushed him back, this time a little closer to the door. Shiro heaved a few breaths, but found his eyes grow wide from shock as a sinister smirk played on his husband's face. It was then he heard it, the voices muffled on the other side of the damaged door.

 

“Shiro!” Lance yelled.

 

“Are you okay, answer us!” Pidge cried.

 

Hunk groaned as if trying to pry the metal apart; “It won't budge!”

 

“Let me.” Krolia said.

 

Shiro watched as the bloodied bitten hand raised, the shadows swirling in front of his palm. His attention shifted quickly to the door as he could see it beginning to give under Krolia's strength. Hastily he reached out to the wolf next to him; “I need you, buddy.” he said. The animal gave a whine of understanding, moving into Shiro's palm.

 

The door gave, exposing Shiro's friends on the other side. The mound of energy releasing from the entity, hurling its way towards them. Shiro blinked along side the wolf only to end up between the blast and them, his arm glowed a powerful blue and teal as a giant shield formed in front of him, blocking the shot. He grunted through the blast, waiting for it to dissipate. He watched his enemy in these fast pacing moments, holding strong and steady. Something he felt lost to him these past few years. That's when he saw it; a glowing, pulsing, purple like energy in Curtis' chest. He would only have a split second when he lowered the shield...

 

Once the blast weakened he ran for it; the shield disappeared, the magical energy shifting its shape into a blade. “Kosmo!” He ordered and the wolf was right there with him. With lightning speed they ran forward, the cosmic animal blinking them forward just enough that when they reappeared, the blade that had formed on Shiro's wrist pierced through the pulsating energy and through the body was well.

 

The lights in the hall flickered back to life, blade vanished and the body fell limp as every shadow from it began to fade. Shiro's eyes went wide in horror as he gazed down, panic beginning to set in as he took a few shaky steps back towards the door, stumbling over his feet causing him to fall to the floor. His steel eyes remained glued to the fallen man. The others rushed to his side.

 

“Shiro, you okay?” Lance questioned once he was next to him.

 

Shiro's breaths were ragged , he could barely hear him or Pidge asking; “Can you hear me? Shiro?”

 

“No... no...” he breathed out, hard as he continued to stare in disbelief.

 

Hunk followed his gaze towards the body. Shock was clearly on his face as he breathed out; “No way...” The others looked on as well, their own disbelief setting in as they gazed upon a clone of Shiro.

 

After a couple minutes of silence, Shiro takes a few needed deep breaths as he gets to his feet, slowly gripping the wall. He glances through the window as he moves; Keith is back to being still. He presses forward moving passed his friends and the body. He glanced back at them just as he stood in front of the door, his gray eyes pleading with Krolia; “Please... find a way to remove that...” he closed his eyes; “With as little questions as possible...” The door to Keith's room hissed open and he stepped through.

 

His head was screaming at him again, but he felt more pain in his heart as he approached the bedside. The others looked on from the other side of the glass; watching their friend fall to his knees, reaching out for Keith's hand with his human one.

 

“I guess I don't do too well, without you...” he whispered, his hand- his entire body shaking.

 

Allura helped Keith move towards the Blue Lion, sitting him down so he was leaning up against her giant, metal paw. He gives a small, tired smile, looking upwards; “I'm not doing so hot right now either...” There was a long pause, as he listened to see if Shiro said anything more, when he didn't he turned his attention to the Princess; “Allura, Honerva took our memories to create this world... what happens if we remember?”

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

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	4. Was it Fate?

An hour had passed since the incident in the medical wing, since the Paladins had watched Shiro fight like the hero he was to them and yet watched him sink in sorrow and horror in the aftermath. Hunk, Pidge and Lance sat within the kitchen to the mess hall; the former Yellow Paladin cracked a few eggs, into the mixing bowl he had then tucked into the crook of his arm, blending the dough together and threw cookies into the oven. Pidge sat with a laptop, clacking away and Lance just sat with his elbows on the counter, watching his two companions.

 

“A clone...” Lance whispered; “Do either of you remember hearing about a clone?”

 

Pidge shook her head; “No, at least not more than one.” she replied, her eyes glued to her screen.

 

“Where could he- it, have come from?” Hunk asked as he spaced out some dough for another batch of cookies.

 

Lance heaved a heavy sigh; “I can't even begin to fathom how Shiro must feel right now...” he looked over to Pidge; “Any luck with the information on the Lions?”

 

She shook her head; a sigh escaping through her lips as she closed the computer. “I looked through everything and even Alfor didn't understand how the Lions became sentient.”

 

“That makes no sense, how can something just... be?” Lance pondered, stumbling over his words, clearly baffled.

 

“It's not that hard to understand, it is within science technically.” The former Green Paladin pointed out; “We as humans are proof of this.”

 

“You mean like from birth?” Hunk asked, removing his cookies from the oven and placing the unbaked ones in it.

 

“Exactly, even we start out as a mere creation; something from nothing and then over time we evolve; becoming our own person, our own entity.”

 

There was a heavy weight in the air, the three of them all thinking the same thing as the silence lingered. Lance folded his hands and placed them to his forehead; “What of the clone then? He was still a person, right? But was he his own?”

 

“The clone was a tool and nothing more.” The former Paladins turned to the door swooshing open to reveal Krolia making her way over to them.

 

“But, Shiro is a clone... isn't he?” Hunk questioned.

 

“Shiro is Shiro; his soul is what makes him who he is regardless of his flesh. My son of all people knows this and I know you all know it too.”

 

“But... it's still unsettling to see your hero lying on the floor in blood...” Lance added, his hands still to his forehead.

 

“Your hero saved us.” Krolia stated matter-of-factly; “The thing on the ground was nothing more than a vessel for some kind of weapon.”

 

“But it wasn't.” Lance said, slamming his hands to the counter, surprising everyone around him; “Shiro's body is a clone too, just as Hunk said. He had thoughts, feelings and even memories. We were there with him; talked with him, fought along side him, hell even played games with him. And the person on the ground looked JUST like he did when he left for Kerberos. The man was my idol, so who's to say that being didn't have the same ambition?”

 

“Lance, where is this coming from?” Hunk asked, every ounce of his being concerned.

 

Lance raised a hand to his face, gently touching one of the markings; “Who's to say they didn't do that to someone else..”

 

Taking a breath, Krolia reached out, placing a hand atop of the one of Lance's that still resided on the counter top; “Because some things can be fabricated or programmed. Much like an actor, things can be rehearsed or memorized. But a soul? That is something beyond science and logic. Something unique to every one being. Physically being able to see, touch or hear is nice at it's base, but being intertwined and connected by another's soul is something truly special. If the Galra Empire or someone else had done what was done to Shiro, you'd know it wasn't her.”

 

He lowered his hand and closed his eyes, attempting to hold off the tears that inevitably wanted to flood out of his ocean like orbs; “I miss her...” he choked out. It was honestly the first time he had felt like he was actually mourning. He had shed tears when he said goodbye, but for some reason, right at this moment, it felt all too real that she was no longer among them.

 

“We all do.” Pidge said, inching closer to place her friend in a half hug.

 

“No matter how much time has passed, it is always okay to grieve and mourn someone you love.” Krolia offered.

 

“Yeah, man, you're not alone.” Hunk softly stated.

 

Their ears perked up at the sound of the door whooshing open again to reveal Sam Holt walking through. He took a couple strides and stopped next to his daughter, placing a hand on her shoulder; “Did you manage to find anything, Katie?”

 

She shook her head, releasing Lance from the small hug; “No, even King Alfor's personal notes couldn't shed light onto it. So whatever made them leave for the Celevieon system or possibly attack Keith could be based on instinct.”

 

Sam pondered her statement, sighing with slight disappointment; “Well I at least have some good news. We think we might have figured out why our memories have been jumbled. Follow me to the war room and we'll explain.”

 

The former Paladins nodded, removing themselves from their current spots, turning off the stove and whatever else they had been using to follow the Commander down the hallways.

 

“I'll have Shiro meet you there.” Krolia said, turning down the other end of the hall towards the medical cell her son was still in.

 

Shiro sat on the side of Keith's bed, his human fingers interlaced the best he could with Keith's. Kosmo sat next to him, with his head on Shiro's knee, his prosthetic hand slowly petting his fur. The sound of the door caught his attention, his gaze shifting towards it. Krolia approached, a gentle smile on her face; “How are you doing?”

 

“Better, given the circumstances. My head is still pounding, though...” he turned back to look at Keith; “Has anyone said anything about his condition?”

 

She shook her head; “No and-” she folded her arms across her chest; “for the time being they are keeping him down here.” she sighed at that; “But there might be some good news, Sam thinks he knows what has caused your memories to vanish. He's in the primary war room with the Paladins.”

 

“Thank you.” he said softly. He gave Kosmo a few more pats before standing, his eyes remaining on Keith as he did so. He was silent as he looked at him, taking in his sleeping features, very thankful that he wasn't thrashing or screaming like he had. Slowly, he moved the bangs from the sleeping man's face with his Altean hand and leaned in, brushing his lips against his forehead. “I'll be back.” he whispered. He removed himself from the bedside, giving a nod to Krolia as he approached the door with the space wolf close in tow.

 

Thankfully the wolf was keen on just following Shiro instead of teleporting as it appeared the white-haired man seemed to be deep in his thoughts as he moved. The hows and whys of everything that has happened in the past few hours, let alone the past two years, weighed heavy. He took a deep breath when he stopped in front of the large doors, his gaze held to them, uncertain of what answers lye beyond. Kosmo gave him a gentle lick on his human hand to which Shiro smiled at his furry companion. “Thanks.” he said, taking one small step forward to trip the sensor to open the door.

 

At the sound of the swoosh the eyes of those inside the room turned to face the new comer. Sam gave the kindest of smiles as Shiro and the wolf approached to stand at the head of the table alongside the other Paladins; “It's good to see you again, Shiro.”

 

“You as well, Sam. I'm...” he paused as he stopped next to Pidge, searching for the words. His shoulders slumped as he heaved a sigh.

 

The older man shook his head, placing a kind, reassuring hand upon Shiro's shoulder; “No need to apologize. None of this is your fault.”

 

Another long inhale before Shiro gave a nod, though pausing right after to gather his thoughts on his first question, though he wasn't sure he really wanted the answer; “What did you do with... 'him'?” he took a couple more deep breaths, feeling some panic arise in his chest as the question flowed passed his lips. Kosmo settled beside his left, nuzzling his head along Shiro's human hand. Shiro gladly took the hint and began to lightly pet the animal.

 

“You needn't worry about that.” he states, although his tone had a little bit of grimness to it, knowing Shiro wasn't going to like the full explanation; “We removed it to a remote site away from the Garrison proper, so that we may...” he paused, carefully planning his next words; “examine it.”

 

Shiro felt a chill run down his spine, his breaths became quick again. His gray eyes were wide, but he was looking at nothing in particular dead ahead of him. Quick flashes of images appeared in his mind; his twenty-four year old self strapped down, the glows of purple along the walls and ceiling. He saw slight movement from his arm, trying to break free, his voice stammering _“Wh-what are you doing?!”_ a pause; _“No... NOOOOOoo!!!!”_ His movement on the wolf's fur stopped as he began to shake, gasping for air.

 

“Shiro?” Sam questioned.

 

Hunk looked around the room; “What's wrong?” he asked after seeing nothing in sight to have cause for alarm.

 

Kosmo leaned closer, letting out a whine to alert Shiro of his presence again. Hearing the wolf, Shiro began to scratch behind the animal's ear; his breathing slowly evening out. His vision coming back into focus and when it had fully he turned his gaze away. “Sorry...” he whispered.

 

“It's okay, Shiro.” Pidge says softly, placing a hand on his back.

 

Lance brought over a glass of water and handed it to him. Shiro nodded in thanks, drinking while silence filled the air.

 

“Shiro,” Sam said after a few moments; “did you have any attacks like that within the last two years?”

 

He shook his head; “Not that I can recall.” he paused, watching his fingers move back and forth a long Kosmo's head; “I remember being startled awake sometimes, but never knowing what caused it.”

 

Sam frowned; “I wished some more pleasant memories would have surfaced for you first, but at the very least, I think we may be able to offer an explanation.”

 

“We?” The door swooshed open again, once more those in the room shifting their gaze. Shiro felt his face drop as he watched the creature waddle in; “Oh no...”

 

Slav moved his way carefully through the room, obviously avoiding any possible crease or cracks in the floor, standing in front of everyone in the exact center once he reached the front of the room. Even though the movement wasn't much, it was enough for Shiro's eye to twitch.

 

“It's good to see you on your feet again, Admiral.” He said kindly, then glancing to each person in the room; “I entrust everyone is wearing the correct colored socks today.”

 

“That has nothing to do with anything...” Shiro sighed.

 

“It most certainly does. If he-” he pointed to Sam; “had worn his green socks that fateful day, we most certainly would not be in this mess.”

 

Another twitch of Shiro's eye; “Could you please get on with it...” he muttered.

 

“Fine, but just know there is a point five percent chance more that our reality is doomed because of this.”

 

“There will be a one hundred percent chance that I will completely knock you senseless if you don't get on with it.” Shiro growled.

 

His companions stared at him, mouths slightly agape. Even if their memories were messed up one thing had remained the same; Slav could irritate the world's most patient man with just his presence alone.

 

Slav moved one of his hands to his mouth, coughing to regain his wits after being threatened and cleared his throat. “From what we have gathered, this all started not long after the first Robeast appeared on Earth and seemed to have spiraled as Honerva began to pass through the alternate realities.” He booted up one of the monitors behind him, showing something that looked like a braid of rope; “In order for her to even attempt such a thing the way she did, she needed a constant. Something that every reality had, a common thread if, you will.” he paused, waiting for that to sink in for a second; “Shiro and Keith were that thread.” A strand on the braid was plucked away, the image now unraveling and separating; “By taking your memories of each other, she was free to move through the cracks.”

 

“What does that mean, exactly?” Lance asked, arcing an eyebrow.

 

“Yeah, is it like how they act or sound?” Hunk questioned.

 

“Or how they met?” Pidge pondered.

 

Shiro remained silent, petting Kosmo gently as Slav shook his head then setting his eyes on him; “I mean romantically.” he states, then brings up multiple screens. Each screen displaying Shiro and Keith from different realities.

 

Shiro himself was in awe as his steel gaze turned wide at the multiple versions of himself and Keith closer than they had ever been. Softly flirting, cuddling; purely in love with one another.

 

One of the screens caught Pidge's attention. She lifted her hand and pointed to the dark haired man with a mullet and square jaw; “Wait, is that Sven?” she asked.

 

Lance placed his index finger to his chin; “So if Shiro is Sven, then who is Keith in that reality?”

 

“Oh, Sven is Sven; my charge in this reality.” He pointed to Shiro; “You and Keith are his parents.”

 

The room goes silent as Shiro stands there still wide-eyed and now confused. His motions to pet the wolf had also ceased, his attention turning to Slav; “I'm sorry, what?”

 

“You and Keith are his fathers.” he repeated; “The Shiro and Keith of this reality were taken from him, captured by the evil Alteans when he was just a baby. But it looks like everything worked out okay, like I knew it would.”

 

Shiro looked at the screen, watching the two fathers hug their child with happy tears in their eyes. They fell to their knees in joyous sobs. Keith held Sven close, stroking his hair while Shiro had his arms around the two of them. A smile on his face as he gave Keith a kiss on the top of his head. Shiro couldn't help but smile at the sight.

 

The white-haired man was pulled out of his little daze as he heard the former Green Paladin make a new observation from another screen; “Are those Shiro and Keith as penguins?! They're so cute!!” She exclaimed. The emperor penguin with the white forelock and scar bowed its head down as the smaller penguin with a mullet held out a pebble between its beak.

 

“Look at all those pebbles around Shiro...” Lance said with a laugh.

 

Hunk broke out an 'aww' while looking at another screen; “Look over here guys. It's a dove and a raven.” They watched as the small, mullet-headed raven built a nest for the large dove that had a scar on the bridge of its beak.

 

Slav flipped the screens that had been looked at to a few other realities. Shiro felt his face flush, the redness going to the tip of his ears as he gazed upon what looked like him and Keith in an art classroom. The Shiro on the screen untied the black silk robe he had donned, letting it fall to the floor.

 

Shiro quickly turned to his right and covered Pidge's eyes, but the gasps and awes from the other Paladins didn't escape his ears. He glared at Slav; “Could we PLEASE look at something else.” It was most certainly a statement than a question.

 

Slav did as requested, switching to yet another reality on that monitor. Shiro released his hand from the girl's eyes, allowing her to see once more. She quirked an eyebrow as she looked upon a very large, furry Galra with Shiro's old dark hair and white bangs; “Is that Shiro?” she asked.

 

They all looked puzzled, but Slav only shrugged; “You saw them as birds and this is what surprises you?” He points to the armor; “He is with the Blade of Marmora so of course Keith would eventually find him.”

 

The scene on the screen showed his Galra self sitting so he could be at Keith's eye level. Keith looked no different in this reality, his form still human and gazed at him lovingly. He moved closer, placing a kiss on his cheek and a hand gently rising to one of his large ears.

 

Shiro immediately adverted his gaze, that blush again was rushing to his cheeks and ears as he heard himself purr at the touch. He could feel all the eyes in the room on him. His eye twitched again; “Slav...” he growled. The low growling sound did not only come from him however, but from the wolf as well. Kosmo leaned forward, towards Slav, sneering with his fangs bared, seemingly just as annoyed as Shiro was.

 

“Ah...” Slav took a few side steps away from the cosmic animal, then pointed and waved a finger in Shiro's direction; “The point is, dear boy, your love existed everywhere. You two are literal soulmates, but when it vanished from our world-” he paused, switching out the other realities for a holographic image of Altea on the left side of the rope and Daibazaal on the right; “she ended up creating a paradox.”

 

Pidge crossed her arms over her chest, bring her right hand to her chin; “With the return of both Altea and Daibazaal; the two planets whose destruction caused a ten thousand year war...” her eyes went wide as she noticed the paradox herself; “It completely negates everything we went through; the bonding with our Lions, all those hard battles, all the lives that were lost... everything we went through was for nothing.” She could feel tears sting behind her eyes as she looked to her father; “Everything you and Matt went through too, from the moment the Kerberos mission was deemed a failure...”

 

“Katie...” Sam said, his eyes sorrowful as he gazed upon her. His glance soon followed her direction as she looked to Shiro, his own expression faltering into sadness.

 

“And everything YOU went through... the capture, the torture, the arena, your escape... your-” she cut herself off, reaching both her hands to her face to hide her eyes. The tears she tried to hold back now free falling; “death...” she choked out.

 

The room was silent. Sam had moved next to his daughter and placed her in an embrace, Shiro had continued to pet Kosmo in an attempt to calm his nerves. Hunk crossed his arms over his chest as if he was hugging himself, his eyes down cast; “I don't believe this... Or memories of Shiro and Keith are the things that are messed up or forgotten, but everything else we can remember clearly when it doesn't mean a damn thing?”

 

The former Yellow Paladin's words stung right through Lance's heart as he raised a hand to touch one of the markings, his finger tips graced the streaming tears that willingly fell silently; “Is there any way we can fix this?” he managed to ask, his voice was raspy as he tried to control his emotions.

 

“It's already begun.” Slav states, zooming in on the planets; the base of the holograms showing chunks of earth breaking off and crumbling into the nothingness; “The more Shiro and Keith remember and the clearer the memories become the more our memories too will get repaired and the planets will fall into nothing and cease to exist.”

 

Everyone was silent once more. Shiro held his gaze onto the holograms, watching the crumbling planets flow like sand in an hour glass. “What are our chances that we'll succeed in getting our memories returned?” he asked.

 

“One hundred percent.” Slav answered.

 

“Was there anything else that was created by this paradox?”

 

“From my current calculations, there is a probability of seventy percent that some other things have also occurred that are a direct result of the unraveling of the thread.”

 

“Look into it. We need to know exactly what we are getting into.” he turned to the Paladins; “I know this is a situation none of us wanted to be in, believe me, but our universe needs us again, now more than ever.” he paused, letting himself pet the wolf briefly; “Contact Coran and let him know what Sam and Slav have discovered and have him prepare for an immediate evacuation.”

 

“I'll talk with Iverson and the Coalition to lend a hand in the efforts.” Sam said.

 

“Thank you, Sam.” He took a breath; “I'll speak with Krolia and have her get in touch with Kolivan.”

 

“How... can you be so calm right now?” Hunk asked.

 

“Because I have to be.” he replied simply. He hugged the wolf closer to his body, the animal taking its cue to poof them out of sight.

 

“No, you don't...” Hunk sighed out to no one in particular. He motioned his head towards the door; “Let's go make that call to Coran.” Pidge and Sam followed quickly out the door, leaving Lance alone with Slav.

 

The former Blue Paladin still had his fingers to one of the markings as he stared at the holograms; “Somewhere... you and I live happily ever after, right?” he asked to himself more than anything.

 

Slav changed the screen on him, causing Lance to flinch slightly at the unexpected blipping of images; “Fret not, though you are not a constant like Shiro and Keith, you and the Princess are quite common. Take this reality for example.” the screen returned to the art studio.

 

“Uh...” Lance paused, turning his attention to Slav while lowering his hand to his side; “No offense to Shiro, but I really don't need to stare at his dick again.”

 

“You didn't mind staring in this reality when it was for her.”

 

“What?!”

 

Slav pointed to the person seated next to Keith; “In this reality, Allura ran that art class. You wanted to ask her out and asked Keith to take that class with you for support.”

 

The screen panned to show Allura placing a hand on a puzzled Lance's shoulder as he peered around the side of the easel, gesturing with his hand in an attempt to figure out the shapes he was seeing. Allura let out a laugh as he did so.

 

Lance smiled at the sight and sound; “I think I'm gonna stay here and watch for a little while...” he said, taking a seat in one of the near by chairs at the long table.

 

Shiro blinks into Krolia's view along side Kosmo. She stands from her spot at Keith's bedside. “How did it go?” she asked.

 

Shiro could see the concern in her eyes; “The short of it; our memories will return, but pieces of our reality will crumble into nothing once they do.” He did his best to hold his eye contact with her, but all he could do was look passed her and gaze onto her son instead.

 

The look of worry and possibly fear did not go unnoticed by the senior Blade; “What do you mean by crumble?”

 

He began to recant more of the finer details of the meeting he had just attended, primarily about Altea and Daibazaal; “The evacuation process will need to begin as soon as possible. Sam is already heeding the aid of the Garrison and the Coalition.” He watched her nod understandingly, while he paused for just a second before adding; “But there is something else I might request of you.”

 

“What is it?” she questioned with a hint of surprise.

 

Shiro's eyes now locked with hers, his face serious; “The Trials of Marmora.”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First I would like to dedicate and credit the AUs mentioned in this chapter;  
> [@zuspacey](https://twitter.com/zuspacey) for the Lovechild AU  
> [@Jotakorium](https://twitter.com/Jotakorium) for Galra Shiro  
> [@yui930_log](https://twitter.com/yui930_log) for the Raven and Dove AU  
> [@birdmanbirdplan](https://twitter.com/birdmanbirdplan) for the Penguin AU  
> and [voidslantern](https://archiveofourown.org/users/voidslantern/pseuds/voidslantern) for the artist AU which was inspired by their fic [With Every Brushstroke](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15766881/chapters/36675135) These AUs helped heal my heart after season 8 dropped so when writing this chapter I felt the need to give the love they deserve. So if you haven't seen what these people can do, please go check them out.
> 
> Secondly... welcome to what started the idea of this fic. The paradox. When I saw that they brought back the two planets it really felt like the whole series was just a waste of time; everything they had gone through, both personally and together, was for nothing. That thought hit me hard when it came to Shiro. What hits harder, and I couldn't bring this up as Krolia and Keith would have been the only ones to know the backstory of it, is that with Daibazaal returning and the war technically not happening that meant the Blades didn't need to be formed, which means Krolia wouldn't have to infiltrate the Empire and track down the Lions because Altea was in one piece and thus the Lions never got scattered, which means she never goes to Earth and meets Keith's father. Thus it negates Keith's existence as a whole! Like WTF?!
> 
> So here I am getting ready to destroy Honerva's perfect world. I hope you're enjoying it!
> 
> Follow me on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/LusciaKoushiro) to see how fics are progressing! ^_^


	5. A Voice from the Past

Krolia merely stared at him in shock for a few moments, but quickly put her foot down; “I cannot fulfill that request.”

 

“Krolia, please. I need to do this.” he sighed, adverting his gaze from hers; “I don't think it is as simple as manipulation that made me 'fall' for Curtis...” his voice was just above a whisper. “According to Slav, Keith and I...” He paused, attempting to find the words. His cheeks began to flush ever so slightly, knowing he was talking to his love's mother.

 

“Are mates.” she completed for him.

 

“How did-?”

 

She smiled; “Honestly, Shirogane, do you think I don't know my own son?” she crossed her arms over her chest; “You were all he really talked about for two years.”

 

Shiro still did not meet her gaze, but instead looked to the slumbering Keith behind her; “Evidently, we are together in all realities... I have to know why I was swayed so easily.”

 

“Shiro, even if I agreed to this, that suit functions practically at one's breaking point; both mentally and physically. If you do this, you more than likely will trigger-”

 

“I know the risk, Krolia.” he moved his hand along Kosmo's fur, his eyes still set on Keith; “But I need to do this, not just for me, but for him- for US.” he finally turned his silver gaze to meet her violet one.

 

Minutes go by as they stare at one another and she let out a sigh, seeing as Shiro was not backing down. She looked back towards Keith; “You are just as stubborn as my son.” she states with a hint of fondness, if not pride behind it. She returned her attention to him; “I make no promises, but I will speak with Kolivan.” She walks passed him, moving towards the door.

 

***

 

Within a few hours Krolia returned with a suit in hand. Shiro rose from his seat next to Keith and took it into his grasp once it was presented to him. “I hope it didn't take too much convincing.”

 

“To the contrary, you seek knowledge and as the head of the Blade of Marmora, who is he to deny the Black Paladin.” she paused momentarily, taking a breath; “Change and meet me in the training area.” she turned on her heels and exited the room.

Shiro did as told and changed rather hastily. He placed his clothes on one of the near by chairs and began to head towards the door, but stopped when he heard Kosmo's claws clacking against the floor behind him. He turned to face the wolf, placing gentle hands under his muzzle and atop of his head. He gave a few slow pets; “Thank you, for everything you are doing for me.” he said with a kind smile; “But I am going to need to you stay with Keith for a bit. I know you want to look after me like you have been, but this is something I have to do on my own. I promise, I'll be okay.”

 

The cosmic wolf let out a whine and then licked Shiro's human hand. After one more pat and a “Good boy” from Shiro, he trotted back over to Keith's bedside and lay next to him on the floor. Shiro gave one last smile to the animal before heading to the training deck.

 

The training area of the Garrison was not unlike the one in the Castle of Lions or the IGF-Atlas. It was bare when you entered, but all of that could change either with a simple voice command or from someone in the observation deck above. Shiro stood off to the side in the empty room, waiting. His silver gaze lifted towards the observation area.

 

“Shiro, listen to me carefully. This is not going to be the same as the trials you saw Keith go through.” Krolia states simply, but he could hear the warning in her tone; “There are no doors for you to seek passage through or a way to outwit your foes in means of escape. This is a battle gauntlet; wave after wave of non-stop fighting. Do you understand?”

 

Shiro nodded to her.

 

“Then let us begin...” she pressed a button on one of a few consoles in front of her, releasing a battle droid.

 

The trial starts off slow; first with one droid, then two, followed by three, much like what Shiro had witnessed with Keith back when they first met the Blades. Unlike Keith's trial however, Shiro was cutting through the droids like they were nothing. There were multiple steps as he weaved to avoid being struck and make his final blows, but even at the highest of difficulties, Shiro easily defeated them.

 

Krolia could only watch from above, her arms were folded and her gaze was held to the man below for the moment; “I don't like this, Kolivan.” She says, glancing to a screen to her left; “I know he thinks he knows what he's doing, but-”

 

“Knowledge or Death, Krolia.” She hears him say.

 

She quickly lowered her arms to her side as she whipped her attention to the Marmora leader; “He isn't a Blade, nor is he a Galra. He's-”

 

“Someone Keith trusts.” he interrupts; “So as his mother, maybe you should trust in him as well.”

 

She turned her attention back down below the observation deck, her eyes centered on Shiro as he took down another five droids. She can see that he was taking a few deep breaths, but doesn't appear to be breaking much of a sweat at all. It was to be expected, for a mind as sharp as the Captain of the Atlas. “The moment this goes too far, I am putting a stop to it.” She stated, firmly. Krolia continued to watch, her heart ached a little, knowing what she was about to do. She reached down to the edge of the console in front of her, picking up an ear piece. Delicately, she equipped it to her right ear; “Vhydix, do you copy?”

 

“Yes, Ma'am.” came the deep and distorted voice of a male Galra; “We are in position whenever you are ready.”

 

Her violet eyes never left the sliver-haired man below, her left hand moving to her chest; “You understand your orders?”

 

“Yes, Ma'am.”

 

The hand on her chest clenched tight. She knew what had to be done, what Shiro was going to have to endure. “I'm sorry, Shiro...” she whispered. It was fast, but it felt like slow motion to her as she slammed a button on the console, causing the training deck to take on a different shape, layout and sound. Shiro could be seen down below, freezing after he had taken out another droid, as the sounds of a crowd echoed around him. Krolia brought up her right hand to meet her left, almost as if in a prayer, fore there wasn't a Galra alive who didn't know the legend that was The Champion.

 

The lights were dimmed around the crowds at the arena, but the spot lights were bright and dancing around Shiro and his oncoming opponents at the center stage. The three new droids raced forward, surprising the white-haired man, who was still in shock. One droid took its staff, landing a blow to Shiro's abdomen, knocking the wind out of him and then the second came swooping in with lightning speed behind the first and with a powerful punch sent Shiro back a few feet only to be knocked down to his knees by the third as it landed a robotic elbow in his back.

 

The crowed cheered loudly as the Champion took the blows. Shiro took in a few breaths, panic beginning to arise. _'Fight...'_ His brain told him; _'Fight if you want to live...'_ he snapped his head up as he heard speedy footsteps rushing toward him. He heated up his Altean arm, much like he had with his old Galra one and when the droid was in range, he launched himself upwards with a strong upper cut. The metal fingers of his prosthetic grabbed onto the splintering metallic body and tactically threw it hard into one of the other approaching robots. Before the two defeated droids vanished, Shiro was swift in picking up one of the fallen's staves, putting all his strength and weight into it; he pulled it back like a javelin and hurled it forward into the last droid's face. The robot fell to its knees and Shiro was quick to be right in front of it to reclaim the weapon.

 

If it was possible, the crowd erupted into an even louder cheer and began to chant; “Cham-pi-on!! Cham-pi-on!!” Shiro could feel his breath hitch as the sound of a large door began to slowly open.

 

“Vhydix, on my mark.” Krolia said lowly. The doors opened wide, revealing the tall, muscular Blade, his sword drawn; “Now!”

 

Vhydix moved so fast on his feet that Shiro couldn't even register who or what his opponent was before he took a heel to the jaw. Shiro watched closely there after, engaged by the movement the Glara exhibited with his sword; swift and delicate movements before the blade came down in an attempt to strike his shoulder, but on instinct, Shiro lifted the staff in his hands, blocking the blow. He held the block for a few moments, a flash coming behind his eyes. The low and vicious echo of his own voice ringing in his head, the headache returning to its once intensity; _“Now that's the Keith I remember.”_ he hears himself say.

 

He let out a small, anguished noise as he put his weight onto the staff and pushed the Galra back. He placed his fleshed hand to his head, pushing the heel of his palm into the top of his eye, hoping to reel in some of the pain. He could feel sweat starting to bead down the side of his face as well, his vision going in and out of focus from the memory.

 

It was only the first of her unit to enter the training deck and Krolia already cringed watching Shiro recoil, though not knowing what he had remembered. She took a breath, moving a hand to the ear piece; “Decxovra, do you copy?” she tried to keep her voice steady.

 

“Ma'am.” was the simple reply. Her voice was stern, calm.

 

Krolia watched a few more seconds; “Go.”

 

The doors again opened, causing Shiro to shift his focus and advert his gaze to it. The large metal door slid to the side, the entryway dwarfing his new opponent. She was short and slender, her slim lizard like tail swaying just slightly that he made notice of it. Her right hand moved to the knife strapped to her upper thigh, with a delicate motion she removed it from its sheath and much like with the first Galra who had entered she moved with lightning speed towards him. His silver eyes grew wide as he watched the blade go from a knife into a full grown great sword. She leaped in the air, bringing the sword up one handed at him, with very little time to decide on an action, Shiro dove out of the way, hearing the metal of the blade crash into the arena floor, dust picking up, masking his enemy. He watched the silhouette stand from her strike on the ground, now wielding the hilt of her blade with both hands.

 

Again, he was caught off guard by her speed, especially with something so much larger than her in her clutches. He had no time to even catch his breath, let alone think when she came at him again with an upper arching strike. He held the staff out to take the hit, the sword easily cutting it in half and with swift precision, the Galra known as Decxovra landed a powerful kick to Shiro's chest, sending him back a several feet.

 

The white-haired man clutched his chest, his breaths heavy and vision blurring. He set his sights on her and just behind her he could barely make out the first opponent walking up behind her as she stepped forward. Her weapon again being wielded with one hand, she dragged it along the grounded with an echo of it scrapping. It made Shiro's skin crawl as that sound just rang through his ears, drowning out the roars of the crowds.

 

“On your feet.” he heard her distorted voice command.

 

Shiro got to one knee, his hand still to his chest, his breathing still tight and ragged.

 

“I said-” she stopped her movement, about a foot away from him, placing the tip of her sword into the ground before her; “on your feet.”

 

“Dec, what are you doing?” her fellow Blade in the room questioned.

 

Krolia was wondering that herself as she watched from above, but before she could question she heard Kolivan beside her; “Knowledge or death.” He reminded her again. She gritted her teeth, not liking the feeling that she might have to intervene soon.

 

“You call yourself The Champion?” she mocked; “You think you stand a chance against us?” her voice became low and though her face was hidden, Shiro could almost hear a smirk on her face; “You are nothing but a broken soldier, a worthless hunk of flesh...”

 

“ _They saw you were broken, worthless!”_ the evil voice of himself echoed in his head, the words he had said to Keith. Shiro grunted again at the replayed memory, scrambling to stand.

 

“You're pathetic!” she shouted, her patience running out; “You and your planet!” She moved with her lightning quick reflexes once more, grabbing the hilt as she ran forward, swinging herself around, lifting it from its perched spot that it had been embedded, forming a crescent slash. “Weakling!”

 

Shiro could feel his chest tighten as he heard the taunts and the crowds cheering now erupting louder than it was previously. This was what it was like back then too, your opponent would say anything to break your morale, to crush your spirit; or what little there was of it. But also like back then, your instincts would kick in and you would do what it took to survive. You could play dirty too, if you had to. And his instincts did kick in as he swiftly dodge rolled to his left, the impact from the sword again caused dust to pick up once more.

 

He watched the silhouette carefully, just as she was standing, he heated up his Altean hand with as much energy as it could hold and just as she turned toward him, but before she could lift her blade again, he launched his arm out, rocket punching her in the side of the head; sending her flying backwards with just as much force as the kick she had landed on him earlier.

 

“Dec!” Vhydix cried out.

 

She let out a scream while in the air, the sound of the mask cracking and fritzing out echoed along the walls with it. She thudded and slide along the ground, as Shiro got up and ran towards her, pure adrenaline running through his veins. He leaped into the air, his arm realigning with the socket; he pulled it back, going in for the strike. Decxovra pulled herself up enough to look at The Champion, her long white and redish-purple hair falling just below her shoulders, peeking from under the hood and her piercing violet eyes stared right into his gray ones.

 

Shiro gasped as he made eye contact, a flash of an image behind his eyes of someone younger below him. The attack he was attempting faltered, not quite reaching his mark as he fell, landing not too far from the female Galra. His breaths were short, but he tried to stand on his feet, raising his human hand to his head. His vision had gone completely out of focus, his balance unsteady; “Who...?” he managed to say, his exhaustion coming through clearly in his voice.

 

“Get away from her!” Her partner shouts, running over to aid Decxovra. He bounds over quickly, using his speed to give himself the momentum he needed in his punch that lands directly at Shiro's side, in his ribs.

 

Shiro gasped again as he was sent sailing a couple feet away, skipping along the ground. He attempted to get back up, coughing and wheezing as he did so. He couldn't see straight, every part of him ached. He made one more attempt to stand, but it was no use; his eyes were heavy, his head was pounding again, just managing to rasp out one last thought; “Keith...” before he fell to the ground, unconscious.

 

Krolia watched from above, her two Blades stood off to the side once Shiro was incapacitated; Vhydix holding Decxovra with her arm draped over his shoulder. Keith's mother was about ready to call it off when she noticed someone else was in the room so to speak. The mind-scape had begun to take effect.

 

_Shiro looked just beyond where he had been lying on the floor, the room was dark, nothing but blackness around him, except for the unmistakable form of his best friend, who had his back to him. “Keith?” he asks, with no response. He slowly gets to his feet, making small footsteps towards him. As he inches closer he tries again; “Keith.” Again there was no answer, instead what he was greeted with was the sight of shimmering, crystal tears from the other man. “Keith, what's wrong?” he asks, startled and concerned; there had been only a handful times he had seen him so vulnerable._

 

_Finally he hears his voice, just barely above a whisper, soft upon his ears; “It's killing me when you're away...”_

 

“ _Keith, it's okay, I'm right here.” he said calmly as he inched closer._

 

“ _What did I do? Why did you leave me...?”_

 

“ _Keith, it wasn't you...”_

 

“ _Why...?” he paused, choking back his sobs; “Why did you give up on me?”_

 

_Shiro's eyes went wide and he closed what space was left between them; “Keith, I-” he cut himself off as Keith shattered the moment his arms wrapped around him. “Keith?” he said softly, but hurt coming through in his voice._

 

_The imagery around him shifts, his surroundings though new are very familiar and a voice equally so as he hears; “And here I thought he'd be the one that you never shut out.”_

 

_Shiro turned towards the voice, taking in the sight of his old apartment from before he left for Kerberos; “Adam...” he whispered, gazing at the man sitting at the counter._

 

“ _It's been awhile, Takashi.” He said, turning to face him; his expression soft and fond. “How much longer do you intend on running away?”_

 

“ _Running away?” he questioned, confused; “Who says I'm running?”_

 

“ _Takashi, you've been running for a long time now. From your friends, your illness.... us.”_

 

“ _As I recall, you walked out on me.” Shiro responds, dryly, his arms folded across his chest; “I never ran away from my disease, I knew it was something I couldn't escape from.”_

 

“ _I don't see you denying you running from your friends. From HIM. You always said you wanted someone who would take care of you, but the moment someone tried, you pushed them away.” His voice was still calm as he spoke._

 

_Shiro's brows furrowed, knowing that the someone had meant Adam himself. “You knew my dreams were important to me, ever since the day we met, they had been apart of me.”_

 

“ _And as time went on, that's all that was important to you. No matter what it was, when anyone reached out to you, to help you, to take care of you, like you wanted; the moment -I tried-, you ran.” he reiterated._

 

“ _I wasn't running away, I was running towards my dreams before I couldn't anymore.” he paused, looking away from the man before him; “I didn't want to be a burden...” He admitted quietly._

 

“ _And only I get to decide if you are.”_

 

_That caught Shiro's attention enough to shift his gaze right back towards his ex. A sigh escaped through his lips; “But you walked out on me, regardless of my ambitions or my condition. You still left me.”_

 

_Adam stood from his seat, approaching Shiro; “You shut me out long before that. You never wanted to deal with your illness, it was always something that was there, that you were trying to hide away. You always said to own who you are, but the moment an imperfection came up, you hid it. Always running...”_

 

_Shiro gritted his teeth; “No one had the right to tell me what I could and couldn't do.” he growled; “Not you. Not the Garrison. It was MY body, MY life and MY choice.”_

 

“ _And yet you didn't tell HIM. Honesty seemed to be the one thing he asked of you and yet-”_

 

“ _Shut up. Just... Shut. Up. Nothing was worth his pain. I never wanted to hurt him if I could help it.” he shot Adam a glare; “And he did know, but unlike you, he asked what I was going to do. My well being always came first to him without me sacrificing who I am.” His fierce look intensified; “He accepted me then, knowing I was sick. He believed in me when no one else, including YOU, would. He didn't shy away when I had changed, baring the scars of battle. He found me when no one would look,” he paused, taking in a much needed, calming breath; “He saved me...”_

 

_Adam smirked, placing a hand on Shiro's chest; “Then why do you keep running?” He shoved him, hard enough for him to lose his balance, falling backwards onto the floor. The floor rippled like water when his back hits it, swallowing him whole, drowning him into the darkness._

 

Krolia's eyes go wide as she watches from above, the voice of Kolivan calling out to her, breaking her out of her shock; “Krolia, what's happening?” he demanded.

 

“Shiro, he-” she paused, looking around every inch of the training deck; “His mind-scape transitioned, but he isn't there...” she could hear a rumble coming from Kolivan's screen, her gaze now shifting over to him. She watched him rock to the side and steady himself as it seemed the earth beneath him crumbled.

 

“Did the suit malfunction?” he asked once the quake subsided.

 

She took a moment, determining he was alright and turned back towards the room below. She squinted, when she could see something take shape in the darkness; “Shiro?”

 

Keith's brows furrowed, his violet eyes starting to roam the vacant area around him and Allura. Concern was shining within his violet orbs, causing his friend to take notice.

 

“Keith?”

 

“I feel something...” he said, his voice low. He closed his eyes, focusing, in an attempt to pinpoint where it was coming from.

 

Panic began to settle when Shiro gazed upon his surroundings; the familiar colors, stars and eclipse of the infinite void; the Astral Plane. At first, he could see nothing within the emptiness, forcing himself to take deep breaths. “I'm alive...” he whispers to himself; “I'm alive...” he swallowed, moving a few steps forward. Within those few steps he started to make out the shape of a man, someone just beyond him with his back turned, looking almost thoughtful into the nothingness.

 

With another deep breath, he moved forward towards the figure, the shape of whom started to become clear and again familiar; from his stance, to his dark hair with white bangs, his broad shoulders and narrow waist. There was a lump in Shiro's throat as he stared at himself- at the clone.

 

“ _I shouldn't have accepted you...” He said in a low, bitter tone. “But he called to you... he wanted YOU, and all you did was cause him pain...”_

 

Shiro's brows furrowed, his mind immediately going on the defensive; “I'm not the one who scarred him.”

 

_The clone laughed, mockingly; “You think he cares about that? That whole incident, all he thought about was you. He knew who you were, knew your kindness, your love, but when he returned it, you shut him out.”_

 

“I didn't shut him out!”

 

“ _But you did.” he turned and faced him with a glare; “You can't face the fact that you screwed up one relationship and it terrified you.”_

 

“I'm not scared of Keith.”

 

“ _No, but you are scared of loving him. The moment you couldn't deny it anymore, you panicked.”_

 

“I..” his gray eyes went wide, letting that potential truth sink in.

 

“ _It didn't matter how he felt or what he thought, so long as YOU got what YOU wanted, just like with Adam...”_

 

His brows furrowed again, quickly recovering from the prior surprise; “That's not true!”

 

“ _Isn't it though? You chose something for you and only you with no regards for someone who loved you.”_

 

“You're wrong...” he clenched his human hand into a fist. His argument from moments before with Adam running through his mind and the truth of the matter was; then and now, there were words left unspoken. “ I loved him too, with all my heart... I never wanted to hurt him. That's why-”

 

“ _But you did. You can say whatever you'd like, but the end was the same. You were and always will be selfish.”_

 

“I wasn't-!”

 

“ _You were. You forced Adam to leave. Always about you. YOUR dreams, YOUR pride, YOUR life. Not once did you think about what he wanted.”_

 

“That's all I thought about!” he yelled. Whatever walls he had put up as a defense were now crumbling down as he shouted from his heart; “His hopes, his dreams... the life I wasn't going to be able to give him...” Shiro felt his chest tighten, it hurt being honest; “He deserved better than me!”

 

Keith's eyes shot open, hearing the voice echo through the void, his head whipping in it's direction.

 

Allura followed his gaze as well; “Was that-?”

 

Keith climbed to his feet, a hand over his heart; “He's hurting...” he stated, stumbling over his feet as he began to run towards the voice. Allura followed close behind.

 

_The clone moved closer to Shiro; “And then there's Keith... He gave everything to you.” He smirked, his eyes shifting from the silver to dark and possessed purple. “He was willing to die with me, did you know that?” He paused, watching Shiro's face; “Of course you didn't. That raw devotion never mattered to you.” The smirk became a devilish grin; “Because you were dead... You left him.”_

 

The darkened shadow of the eclipse slithered down to the ground, sliding their way to the clone's form. Shiro felt more panic arise inside at the sight before him, the clone's arm began to glow as he continued his taunts.

 

“ _You should just stay here... let me be the one to return to him...” he watched as Shiro's fist shook next to his side; “I can give him everything you won't. Just give up... just like you did against Zarkon.”_

 

“I didn't give up.” he snarled, lunging forward with his human fist. He gasped as one of the loose shadows latched onto his arm. Sharp talon like shapes emerged from the shadow's sides, impaling the white-haired man from where it latched; causing Shiro to scream in pain.

 

Krolia continued to watch from above, seeing Shiro- the clone Shiro, taunt into the nothingness. Her eyes go wide as she watches Shiro on the ground, gripping his human arm, beginning to scream. “Shiro!” she shouts, turning fast on her heels and out of the observation deck.

 

Behind her, she could make out her friend and superior calling after her from their video feed, but she made no move to turn back. Something was amiss and Krolia knew her son would never forgive her if something happened to the one he loved most in the universe.

 

Shiro, with his Altean arm, grabbed the forming creature with all his strength and pulled it off his arm. He powered up the hand, focusing energy to it, vaporizing the creature in his palm. He turned back to the clone who chuckled at him as he watched the display.

 

“ _Keith deserves better too, don't you think?”_

 

Shiro's eyes turned wide in shock as he watched the shadows engulf the clone, the glowing purple of the Galra arm shining through. It was like the clone was wearing it as a second skin; no seams, no evidence of Shiro under it, but it still smiled creepily at him. A murderous smile. Every part of him froze, unable to comprehend what was happening; his instincts told him to take a step back as the shadowed clone took a step forward.

 

There was no where to flee and the clone was speeding up, tiring of their little game. _“Just like you did against Zarkon”_ the clone had said. It wasn't giving up, Shiro knew, it was acceptance. He stopped his movements and shut his eyes; _'Maybe if I accept my demons...'_ He thought, accepting his fate.

 

But he felt nothing, no pain, no suffering. His eyes shot open at the sound of a beautiful, raspy voice; “There is no one better.”

 

Before him stood Keith, his blade outstretched and the shadows dissipating off it and around him.

 

“Keith...” he choked out in a whisper.

 

Keith dropped the blade, closing the space between them, cupping Shiro's face in his hands. Their eyes locking onto each other; “There is NO ONE better.” He reiterated.

 

Shiro was quiet for a moment, attempting to calm his emotions under Keith's touch. He raised his hands to rest on the Red Paladin's wrists; “I don't want to hurt you...”

 

“You never have.”

 

Shiro took a breath; “I don't want to lose you...”

 

Keith smiled; “You never will.”

 

Shiro could feel it like a lump in the back of his throat. His truth; his greatest fear in loving this man before him; “I don't want to fuck this up...”

 

“You won't. I'm right here with you.”

 

“Keith...” Keith's words had been ill timed as his image began to fade from view, but Shiro needed to say it, before it all came to an end. “I love you.”

 

Keith's smile softened; “I was always hoping you did.”

 

It was faint, but Shiro closed his eyes as Keith brushed his lips against his. When he opened his gray eyes, Keith almost looked like stardust and behind him he could make out the shape of a familiar woman, illuminated by a blue light; “Allura?” He whispered.

 

Shiro laid on his side on the training deck floor, slowly coming to. The voices of the two Blades that had attacked him coming into focus as well as Krolia's, dismissing them from the room. Keith's mother knelt beside him, her hands resting on his shoulder and outer thigh; hoping that the touch provided some comfort to him.

 

***

 

The following day the Paladins stood on the bridge of the IGF-Atlas, awaiting Irverson to come in and give his orders, as they talked among themselves; mainly the topic of the former Atlas Captain landing himself in the infirmary.

 

“I can't believe he put himself through that...” Hunk sighed; “I mean, he could have just talked it out with us or something instead.”

 

Pidge shook her head; “I think it might be a little deeper than that, Hunk. With our memories screwed up it's hard to tell what is real or what is a fabrication into what we are to perceive it to be.” She slid her glasses up with her index finger; “From what I gather from Krolia, everything in the mind-scape, as they call it, is our subconscious given form. Something raw and truthful; our hope and fear. Frankly, I think it makes sense that he chose to do it.”

 

“I didn't say it didn't make sense. Because of course it does. Shiro has always done what he felt best for the situation and he-” he paused; “we need answers sooner rather than later.” he sighed again; “I'm just saying I wish he would talk to us instead, rather than facing it alone or going to extreme measures.”

 

Lance gave a small shrug at that, shaking his head; “Shiro has always been a private person, Hunk. Even back when he was with his boyfriend,” he paused, waving his hand around in the air, snapping his fingers; “what's his name?” a few more snaps; “Uh... he was one of the teachers at the Garrison...” he stopped the motion with his hand and dragged it down his face with a sigh; “Ugh, whatever his name is; Shiro never really talked about it and you wouldn't even know he was in a relationship unless you asked the boyfriend or caught a rare sight of PDA from them. But,” he looked at the Yellow Paladin; “I have to agree with you a little bit, here. We aren't cadets or his students anymore; we're his friends and as his friends he should feel comfortable talking to us about anything.”

 

“Right, that's what I'm saying. Whatever he was afraid of, he should be able to tell us.”

 

The Green Paladin crossed her arms; “Subconscious, Hunk.” she reminded him; “Shiro might not have known.”

 

“Okay, but that doesn't mean he couldn't have told us when we saw him in the infirmary. Think about it, when it comes to Shiro, things just happen. We find out the thing and we just move on. We can't just keep accepting things and simply move on all the time.” He crossed his arms, hugging himself as he adverted his brown eyes; “If we talked about things, maybe all of this could have been avoided or at least, maybe he wouldn't have retired.”

 

The sound of the door swooshes open, catching their attention. Their eyes lit up in surprise as the doors revealed their friend once again donning his Admiral uniform.

 

“Now that's more like it!” Lance said ecstatically, grinning from ear to ear.

 

Pidge smiled brightly; “Welcome back.”

 

Shiro chuckled, then winced slightly after he did so; “It's good to be back.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Follow me on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/LusciaKoushiro) to see how fics are progressing! ^_^


	6. The Pieces that Remain Part 1

Hunk blinked in almost disbelief at the sight of Shiro before them; “You got reinstated? Just like that?” surprise, shock and doubt spilling out of his mouth.

 

Shiro gave him a reassuring smile; “Everything is fine. Apparently Iverson never completed the paperwork for my retirement and instead just listed me on an indefinite leave.”

 

“Wait, what?” Lance questioned.

 

The Atlas Captain gave a shrug; “Apparently my wanting to retire is something that's hard to imagine.” there was a light heartedness to his voice.

 

Lance fought back a hard laugh, but couldn't stop the snickering that came through; it melded in nicely with the others, seemingly all of them recalling their conversation with Keith about Shiro's dreams. The Blue Paladin smiled brightly; “So is the Atlas ready to take to the skies again?”

 

“Just about.” He went to continue, but was cut off by Hunk.

 

“Are you sure?” Hunk asked, his laughter now faded; “I mean, you've been through a lot in such a short period of time.”

“Sadly, there is no time to rest, Hunk.” he replied softly.

 

The Yellow Paladin shook his head, then set a stern gaze onto the older man; “Shiro, you can't just keep diving head first like this” He paused, sighing deeply; “Don't get me wrong, I understand the urgency of this matter, but you went from being married and happy to finding out Keith is unconscious; to which by the way, we have no idea how or why, to finding out your husband was a clone of yourself to god knows what you found out in the trials while getting your ass handed to you and now we are just gonna take off in Earth's most powerful warship? Just move on? Nope, not doing that this time, Shiro.”

 

Pidge chuckled; “You sound like Romelle.”

 

“I'm not diving, not completely.” he sighed, looking to Hunk; “According to Iverson, I am the only one who had been able to get Atlas moving or rather been able to transform her.”

 

“And you don't find it dangerous to attempt such a thing in your current condition?” The Yellow Paladin asked, his voice not unlike that of a strict mother scolding her son.

 

“It's not that I don't, Hunk. It's that we are out of options for an emergency situation. Iverson knows this as well and if there was another way, he wouldn't have come to discuss this matter with me while I was in the infirmary. However,” he gestured with his left hand, waving it in a circle gesturing around the bridge; “all of this does have its strings.” Another sigh passed through his lips, he was never one to be told what he could and couldn't do, but if the trials taught him anything it was that he shouldn't withhold information like this from those who care about him; “With my memory screwed up; whether it be from the paradox or not, there will be a therapist on board. Should I...” he paused, another small waving gesture of his hand; “succumb to my memories, I can seek help should I need it.”

 

Hunk's eyes softened; hearing that Shiro was actually going to get help in some way did lighten a little of the weight on his heart, “Good, but you know you can always come to us. We may not be professionals, but we went through a lot together and as family that has to count for something, right?” He gave him a smile.

 

“I know and that means a lot to me-”

 

“But?” Lance interjected.

 

Shiro sighed, “But, there are going to be times that I will need to process whatever it may be on my own first, so please, don't think I am not talking to you to withhold information; I'm done doing that. But I have to feel comfortable.”

 

Shiro saw each of his friends nod, giving their understanding of his personal situation. “I'm glad you're all here.” He said fondly, “because I am really going to need you.” His eyes setting on the Green Paladin first; “Pidge, I am going to need you to work alongside your Dad with Atlas' engineering as well as Slav with looking into the Paradox. It's been awhile since Atlas has taken flight, so we need to be prepared for whatever may come.”

 

She grinned; “Dad, Matt and I have been making great strides within our own tech for advancements within the Garrison, the Atlas being no exception. I look forward to finally being able to see how she handles some of the upgrades we have planned.”

 

Shiro fought back a smirk as Pidge's words rang in his ears. Truth be told he was quite excited to get Atlas back among the stars and see what she could do. He then turned to the Yellow Paladin; “Hunk, you're going to be assisting with the engineering as well, but from here on the bridge as I will need you for communications. As I mentioned that there will be a therapist on board; if there should come a time when I cannot speak than I will need you to be my voice.”

 

Hunk gave a nod, his smile big and bright in reassurance; “You can always count on me.”

 

Finally, Shiro's gray eyes landed on the Blue Paladin; “Lance, I am placing you at the helm, at least until we retrieve Coran.”

 

Lance's eyes went wide, even if it was temporary, it was quite a shock to his ears; “W-why me?” he stuttered, still not quite believing he heard him correctly.

 

Shiro smiled, placing his human hand unto Lance's shoulder; “You were the right hand of Voltron; if something should happen to me and I am unable to lead, I know you will know what to do.”

 

Lance returned the smile; “Thanks, Shiro. I won't let you down.”

 

“What about Keith?” Pidge questions.

 

“Krolia is transporting Keith onto the Atlas as we speak. Once he is settled we should be set to take off.” he approached the console at the Captain's Station once the Paladins parted to make way. He set his Altean hand onto it, causing the bridge to spring to life with lights and screens. Shiro smiled softly; “It's nice to see you again, Atlas.”

 

***

 

Atlas after almost two years, once again took to the skies, wormholing towards Altea. Shiro's smile never faded as he looked unto the vast star fields of space. God, how he missed all of this.

 

“So, why didn't we just jump to Altea?” Lance asked.

 

It was a good question, especially given the situation. Shiro glanced over to the Blue Paladin; “It's more for observation and assessment. We don't know how much of the planet is intact.” He paused, looking back out to the stars; “I am optimistic in that it hasn't completely faded into dust, but I would like to see for myself the extent of the damage and possibly find a time frame.”

 

“It's good reasoning.” Pidge chimed in via comms from the engineering bay; “If everything is connected to Shiro and Keith regaining their memories, it would be beneficial to gauge a time frame of how long we have. From the sounds; Keith had most, if not all, of his memories when we last spoke with him, so who knows what damage has already been done.”

 

“But, that brings up the question of why Keith hasn't woken up yet, too.” Hunk chimed in; “Is it possible that his returning memories has something to do with this?”

 

“I doubt it.” Pidge replied; “If anything, I would think that it has something to do with the Lions.” She heaved a heavy sigh; “But I am at such a loss as to why they would suddenly attack one of their Paladins.”

 

“Patience yields focus, Pidge.” Shiro said, reciting his mantra; “We just have to take this one step at a time.”

 

“Who knows,” Lance began, a smirk playing on his face; “maybe all Shiro has to do is kiss him passionately on the lips and he'll wake up.”

 

“Lance!” Shiro shouts; feeling his face flush, the heat rising to the tips of his ears. Laughter rang through the bridge as well as over the engineering room.

 

“Come on, Shiro, it's not like I said-”

 

“Do NOT finish that sentence.” He scolded. Another round of laughter ensued.

 

“Captain.” Veronica says, a slight raise in her voice to ensure she was heard over the dull roar of the Atlas crew. “I'm picking up some kind of disturbance up ahead.”

 

“Can you bring up a visual?” He questioned; his calm, Captain-like composure returning. The monitor to the front of the bridge zoomed in. Concern now replacing his embarrassment as he watched what appeared to be a mass of shadows swirling around itself.

 

“It looks like the eye of a storm.” Hunk commented.

 

Shiro nodded in agreement. He ran a few fingers of his prosthetic over the touch screen next to him, opening a new communications channel; “Griffin, do you copy?”

 

“Yes, Sir.”

 

“Take your squadron out to investigate, but proceed with caution.”

 

“Sir!”

 

Shiro looked towards Lance; “Take us in slowly. We'll provide back up should we need to.”

 

Shiro watches closely, listening with keen ears to the open comms to the MFEs. The fighters themselves move with steady, yet swift movements towards the spiraling mass.

 

“This, is most certainly not normal.” James commented as they moved closer; “Kinkade, Rizavi; take port side. Leifsdottir, you're with me on starboard.”

 

“Rodger!” the three say to their commander.

 

The Captain of the Atlas continued to watch, pinging his attention to each of the MFE crafts.

 

“It's weird,” Rizavi says, coming over the communications; “From back there it looked like clouds almost. Something wispy, but the closer we get the more-” Her sentence is cut off by a shrill scream.

 

“Rizavi!” James shouted.

 

Shiro's eyes went wide,as he heard everyone gasp around him. Before them, he watched the shadow begin to take shape, the center forming its golden glowing eyes, its left side becoming talon and claw like, striking down the MFE craft like a fly. “Rizavi, do you copy?” Shiro manages to get out, still in shock. There was no response for several seconds, but a low groan then made its way through the airwaves.

 

“I'm here, barely.”

 

“Atlas, weapons at the ready. Aim cannons at that arm. Kinkade, get its attention to have it reach out.” Shiro ordered.

 

“Rodger.” Kinkade acknowledge, speeding up and firing on the shadow. The plan seemed to be working; the creature was stretching out its talon, rising up in an arcing slice.

 

“Fire!” Shiro shouts. The cannons from the Atlas charged to life, firing out and through what would have been assumed to be the joint; like an arm to a socket. “Rizvai, get out of there now.”

 

“I can't.” she said, panic settling in her voice. “None of my controls are responding.”

 

“Uh, Shiro, I think we pissed it off...” Lance said as he watched the shadow repair itself; its talon in tact. Its movements shifted, twisting towards the Atlas. Its golden eyes shimmered and a grin could be seen taking shape just below its eyes. And in that moment all you had to do was blink and you would miss how fast it lunged toward the warship.

 

“Particle barrier up, now! Brace for impact!” The Captain commanded quickly, just in time to feel the talon strike at the shield.

 

“What is that thing?!” Hunk frantically asks.

 

“I'm not sure, but...” Shiro said, he closed his eyes for just a second; he could see the shadows around the clone within the mind-scape. He shook away the thought for the time being, “Veronica, Iverson; what's the status on the shield?”

 

Commander Iverson's eye shot wide open; “I-I don't believe this...” he stuttered.

 

“That thing took our barrier down to seventy-five percent in one shot.” Lance's sister looked back towards her Captain; “And it's dropping rapidly.”

 

“MFEs, draw it's attention away from the Atlas. Give it everything you've got.” Shiro ordered.

 

“Yes, Sir!” They acknowledged again. The diversion works once more as the shadow leaps off of the Atlas, swift in its movement, something akin to teleportation in how fast it was moving.

 

“Keep shields up. Only fire to get its attention, focus on speed and nothing else, give Atlas some breathing room.” James commanded.

 

“Captain, what do we do?” Veronica asked.

 

Shiro's gray eyes were darting all over the place with how fast the creature was moving about. Thankfully the MFEs were just fast enough, thanks to some modifications from the last two years or so, to match pace somewhat. He went to move his Altean hand to the console, but in the back of his head something told him to stop. Instead he consulted with the Green Paladin; “Pidge, what's your assessment if I transform the Atlas?”

 

“What?” she was more than a little stunned at the question.

 

“Quickly Pidge.”

 

She watched on a monitor from her station, a gasp slowly escaping from between her lips; “Its speed is overwhelming...” she paused for just a moment before coming to a conclusion; “Atlas would be more beneficial as we are now. Transformed she is a little slow and it might be too much for you.”

 

“That's what I figured...” he muttered. He turned on his heels, heading towards the doors. “I'm leaving the bridge to you, Lance.”

 

“What are you doing?!” Lance questions, as he whips around at the sound of the door opening.

 

Shiro stopped to look over his shoulder towards him; “Whatever I can.” With that he dashed off the bridge making his way towards the hangers. He made a quick change into a flight suit before running towards the crafts they had on board.

 

There were a few fighters that were similar to the MFEs, but he stopped when the familiar hum sounded again in the back of his head, turning his attention to a large garage like door. He sprinted towards it, opening them to reveal a craft that was sleek like an MFE, but large enough to be a small, personalized warship. “You want me to take this?” Shiro asked. He hears the hum again and he nods, entering the ship and taking his seat in the cockpit. He opened the communications to the bridge; “Lance, in twenty seconds, fire the cannons, I am going to retrieve Rizavi. Nadia, when you see the cannon fire I want you to eject. MFEs, converge on me in formation after you see the blasts.”

 

The doors to the hanger bay begin to open as Shiro quickly ran through his system check. Sam's voice then came over the communications, clearly worried; “Shiro, that craft you're using hasn't even been tested!”

 

“Well, I'm about to put it through the ringer.” he replied, steadily. He flipped a few more switches, feeling the roar of the engines; “On my mark, Lance.”

 

“Rodger, that.”

 

Shiro watched the door open fully; “Now!”

 

“Fire cannons!” Lance shouted.

 

Shiro took off out of the hanger flying towards the port side to the stilled craft. The mini warship flew like something from a dream; it felt strong and sturdy, yet elegant and swift. Its speed was something Shiro had not expected; much like being with the cosmic wolf, it almost felt like being displaced and reappearing with how quick it was.

 

“Whoa...” Rizavi gasped. She had just barely ejected from her ship when the Atlas Captain was at her side. She made her way in and to the cockpit; “What is this thing?” she asked, standing behind the pilot's seat.

 

“Something experimental.” he answered honestly; “Hope you're up for a little adventure.”

 

She grinned, latching onto the back of the pilot's chair; “You know it.”

 

A smirk played on Shiro's face hearing her answer; “MFEs, on me.”

 

The order didn't need to be given as the three MFE units converged on their captain. The creature had set its sight and assault unto the Atlas, pounding into the particle barrier. Alarms were blaring inside as the red lights of the warning sensors blinked.

 

“Lance, what are your orders?” his sister questioned.

 

The Blue Paladin could feel all the eyes on the bridge on him, the sounds of the alarms almost too much for his ears and the ship just shook with every pound, punch, and slash from the shadow-like monster. He inhaled a couple breaths; “Divert all power to the barrier.” he said calmly.

 

“Lance, if we do that we'll be sitting ducks!” Hunk yelled, fearfully.

 

“We'll be dead ducks if we don't.” he watched on the monitors as the barrier was being powered up again; “Once they get its attention again, we can charge another blast from the cannon.” There was a calmness to his voice, something almost leader-like. Internally he smiled, confident, feeling that Shiro was right.

 

Shiro and the MFEs rose up, approaching the creature as it continued its onslaught of the Atlas. “Let's see what this baby can do.” he said, flipping a switch that released four bits that were placed on each end at the stop of the mini warship. Each bit placed itself in front of each craft and with another flick of a switch a rolling shield emitted from it and surrounded each ship.

 

“Your orders, Captain?” James asked.

 

“Griffin, you and Kinkade aim for the 'shoulders', Leifsdottir, go for the 'lower back' and 'spine'. I'm going for the head.”

 

James blinked; “With all due respect, Sir, our weapons haven't-”

 

“We're not just using our blasters or cannons.” Shiro interrupted.

 

Rizavi grinned even wider; “We're gonna ram it!”

 

They rose into position in the sky, the creature stretching upwards, lining them up for their shot, as it went for another blow to the particle barrier. Shiro aligned the mini warship to go at the same speed of the MFEs top speed as they flew forward, running right through the shadow. Once on the other side, cheers erupted over the comms, but just as quickly gasps came over as well. The crew of the Atlas along with their captain watched as the creature once again repaired the damage like it was nothing and its eerie glowing eyes were once again on the MFE squadron. It's large claw like hand stretched out swinging, making contact with Leifsdottir and Kinkade with one strike. Both ships were knocked right against Atlas' particle barrier.

 

Shiro could only watch in horror as the ships went down, James flew over towards them hoping to provide whatever protection that he could. Shiro could feel the energy depleting from the Atlas, in attempts to reserve for either weapons or shields. With a keen eye he watched the shadow and it looked as if it was following his every move. He moved closer to the Atlas and James, his eyes remained glued ahead of him; “Get to the Atlas, help Ryan and Ina to the infirmary.” He states to the pilot behind him.

 

“Captain, what about-”

 

“That's an order. Whatever this thing is, we are not equipped to handle it.”

 

“Shiro-” Hunk started to say about was immediately cut off.

 

“I'll be okay. Lance, get Atlas out of the combat zone once all MFE pilots are on board. I'll meet up with you.”

 

He was met with silence for a only a few seconds before an “Understood.” came over.

 

After Rizavi exited and each of the crafts made it back to the hangers, Shiro took off again. He could feel his large warship begin to pull away. Shiro flipped more switches, pressed more buttons; releasing all the fire power he could find into the monster ahead. In all of this, the creature never once made a sound and to Shiro that was the most terrifying thing at all. With every blast, the creature would just heal its wounds, but with this new mini warship they were matched in speed. Shiro zipped around the enemy, but he miscalculated in his last swerve, making contact with its large hand. He watched the shields begin to deplete and crack as it began to crush the ship like a toy.

 

“Shi-ro, can yo-u” static, “hear-?” it sounded like Pidge.

 

“An-swer, pl-ease!” the plea most certainly sounded like Hunk.

 

Alarms were going off around him and at that moment he couldn't think of a way to break free. Suddenly there was an eerie calm around him, a familiar feeling of when he had first taken control of the Atlas. He felt like he was somewhere else, to him the cockpit illuminated with teals and blues. The cries and pleas from his comm unit were drowned out by a familiar hum, but the hum was now clear; words being spoken.

 

“ _Use this.”_ the soft and feminine voice said.

 

Shiro shifted his gaze to his right side. An image flashed behind his eyes, the voices of himself and Keith ringing through his head.

 

“ _I've got Zarkon's Bayard...”_

 

“ _You mean you've got YOUR Bayard.” Keith corrects._

 

“A Bayard port?” Shiro questioned, gritting back a little pain from the memory. “But how-”

 

“ _Give me your hand...”_

 

“Atlas?” He questioned.

 

The talons on the shadow-like hand continued to slowly crush down against the ship. Shiro's eyes remained on the port as he heard; _“Trust me.”_ in the back of his mind. He raised his Altean hand, balling it into a fist and shoving it into the port, then turned it as if he was wielding a Bayard. The craft sprang to life for a second time. In stead of the Garrison orange, the screens and outer linings emitted were a soft pastel blue. Shiro could feel the entire ship shift around him as it transformed; each inch of the warship shifting into new positions and with each shift, the shadow creature's grasp loosened. A burst of light blasted between its fingers as Shiro was now free, sitting in the cockpit of a Lion- a White Lion.

 

Shiro watched as the monster seemed to recoil from the radiant light. He grasped onto the two controls to his sides, his muscle memory now taking over. He pushed forward on the lever to his left and pulled back on the one to his right, moving the feline mech away from the shadow. He could feel the memories flooding his mind; of being in a cockpit just like this. He hissed at the pain behind his eyes, but he remained focused. “Let's see if some things are the same... Form Jaw Blade.” A crystal like blade appeared within the Lion's maw. He pushed the Lion forward, diving at full speed, aiming for one of its wrists. He sliced through it and when he turned around his went wide as he saw where the limb should have been was now vacant.

 

Shiro quickly brought up a monitor to inspect what other kind of weaponry he had in his arsenal. He noticed the four bits that had created the shields now resting around the Lion's neck. He ran his fingers along a screen to dislodge them, having them surround the creature. On another screen he zoomed in on it, hoping to see any sign of weakness.

 

“ _The heart.”_ Atlas says.

 

Shiro follows her direction and as luck would have it he could see the familiar glowing purple pulse in its center. He watched as the enemy twisted to face him, arching its back, outstretching its arms and that was his window. The bits fired in unison, reeling it back slightly, but enough of a distraction for Shiro to fly forward and slice through its pulsing center.

 

The lights from the lasers faded as the shadows dissipated off of the crystalline blade. Shiro leaned back in the pilot's chair, taking in a much needed breath before asking; “Atlas, what is this?” he gestured to the cockpit.

 

“ _A gift.”_ she replied simply.

 

There was a smile on Shiro's face just then, memories once more returning to him, but not as rapid and thankfully for him, none as dire and frantic in their scenarios. Instead he recalled when the Lions first gathered back at the Castle of Lions, hearing their mighty roars all at once for the very first time, to them learning to form Voltron. He chuckled, recalling Hunk wanting to be the head. He reached over to his comm unit, ensuring it was on; “Atlas, do you copy?”

 

“Shiro!” Lance shouted and then immediately sighed in relief; “Is everything okay?”

 

“Everything's fine. The enemy has been defeated, I am on my way to rendezvous with you now.” he placed his hands back onto the controls, turning the Lion around and began to make his way back towards the Atlas.

 

As they flew Shiro continued to see images from his time early on as the Black Paladin. The feeling he had with his team was something he sorely missed and over the last two years it was a wonder he could have ever forgotten it, if a Space Witch hadn't been involved. Overall he was happy with the feeling in his chest and grateful that none of these memories were causing him pain, but as he remembered he began to feel something different, a feeling he had on his way back to Earth; a sense of longing. He frowned, feeling guilty; “I guess I still miss it after all this time...” he voiced, “But I don't need a Lion, Atlas.”

 

“ _I said it was a gift.”_ she chuckled; _“I didn't say it was for you.”_

 

Shiro quirked a white eyebrow; “What do you mean?”

 

She chuckled again, seemingly enjoying his confusion; _“You'll see, but not yet.”_

 

He gave a little pout in response, but left it at that. The rest of the flight back to the IGF-Atlas was on the quiet side. The hanger doors opened and he flew right in landing the Lion before the three Paladins and Sam. Shiro walked out of the Lion's maw, holding his helmet underneath his left arm, approaching everyone.

 

“Is that a Lion?” Lance asked.

 

Pidge's eyes were wide as saucers; “Shiro, how did you do that?”

 

“I'm not sure.” he replied; “I placed my hand” he gestured with his Altean hand; “into something like a Bayard port and the next thing I know it transformed into that.”

 

“Dad, how is that possible?” she asked, quickly turning to Sam.

 

“What are you talking about?” Shiro asked.

 

Sam had his left hand only his right elbow, his index finger and thumb framed his chin as he stared at the large feline; “It's fascinating...” he looked to the Admiral; “We designed that ship to be something like a miniature version of the Atlas, in hope someone could get it to transform like you had done with the larger model. We even built it inside this ship so we could hook it up to her and get everything down to the last detail; including that of her transformed state.”

 

“So where did the Lion come from?” Hunk questioned.

 

Sam could only shrug; “Your guess is as good as mine. When Shiro first transformed the Atlas, we had no idea it was capable of even doing so. And I was the one who built it. A screen had appeared before me showing me the layout and specs suddenly and that was that.”

 

“That's kind of what happened here too.” Shiro stated; “Back then I remember wanting to protect everyone, wanting to help in some way when I first heard Atlas speak to me. My desire was much the same in wanting you all to retreat and that's when I heard her again, just-” he paused, “clearer...”

 

“What do you mean by 'clearer'?” Sam asked.

 

Shiro looked to the Paladins; “Do you remember what it was like to hear the Lions? That pitch and hum?” he saw them nod; “Atlas was the same way too, but now it's not just noise that I react to as if on instinct and trust. She's talking.”

 

“Then she's told you why this happened.” Pidge said.

 

“No.” Shiro sighed, he could hear Atlas chuckling again as he did so; “She said we would find out, but not yet. This situation is apparently amusing to her.”

 

“So... we just move on?” Hunk sighed as well.

 

“It's just something to add to the list, Hunk.” Shiro stated, more than sympathetic; “There's a reason we have this White Lion and I trust Atlas will tell me when she's ready.”

 

“Hn, you sound like Keith when it comes to Kosmo's name.” Lance chimed in with a small chuckle.

 

Shiro couldn't help himself and let out a small laugh, it was nice to think of Keith. Thinking of how calm and certain he was that the animal, though cosmic, would tell him his name. The memory brought a smile to his face. “Atlas,” he said after a moment; “set our course for Altea while we speak with Slav about what we encountered.”

 

“ _Understood, Captain.”_ he could hear the would be a smile in her voice.

 

“Go retrieve Slav and bring him to the war room, we'll discuss things there. I will meet you in a few minutes after I change.” He moved passed his friends and after a few steps the others followed, making their way to their destinations.

 

The doors to the war room opened with its usual swoosh moments later as Shiro stepped through now out of his flight suit. He took a seat at the end of the table next to Lance on the corner while Pidge, Hunk and Sam sat across from them. Slav stood at the head like he had at the Garrison, giving a nod to Shiro as a sign he was ready to begin.

 

“Sam and the rest of the Paladins have brought me up to speed, unfortunately I do not have a reason for the ship's transformation. At least not yet.” He paused bring up a monitor that revealed a horizontal line; “As for that creature, it might be more than a simple paradox that caused it to appear.”

 

“You think it's linked somehow?” Sam asked.

 

Slav nodded; “Allow me to explain.” he gestured to the line; “This here is the thread of our reality and much like an actual piece of string, each thread is made up of multiple fibers, in this matter of speaking; this thread is our reality and the individual fibers are pieces of time.” Tiny pop-up windows then appeared, showing different moments along the thread line; “Each fiber is a moment within our reality's time line, but with minute differences; thus making them their own reality.”

 

“So, what you're saying is that each fiber is a version of us and 'our story', so to speak.” Pidge pondered.

 

“Precisely! Each reality is a 'what if' of sorts.” he gestured toward the beginning; “Take the start of your journey, Admiral, what if you never went to Kerberos?” He zoomed in on the image placed at the start of the time line. The scene on display showcased Keith pushing Shiro in a wheelchair.

 

Shiro felt his heart sink at the sight, he knew the end of that what if...

 

“As I mentioned, each what if is its own reality, splitting off of ours, but watch the main thread, the center of our time line.” The image showed a thread moving up, then looping backwards; “The more this happened the more what ifs showed up.”

 

“How far back does the loop take us?” Pidge asked.

 

“By the looks-” he paused, analyzing the thread; “From Kerberos.”

 

“Okay, but why that point?” Hunk inquired.

 

“Because they're 'fixed', relatively speaking.” The Green Paladin stated.

 

Slav gave an enthusiastic nod; “Yes, yes, that's it exactly! Certain events cannot be avoided-”

 

“But you JUST showed us what if Shiro never left for Kerberos.” Lance interrupted; “Pretty sure that would have avoided the whole being abducted thing.”

 

“Getting captured, perhaps, but his run in with the Galra would have come at some point.” Slav pointed out, gesturing back to the time line, making a circling motion to the start again; “Thus a loop back and starts the story anew.” He looked to Shiro; “What do you remember of your escape?” There was a tone to his voice, something that held a certain 'I know something' to it.

 

Shiro didn't care much for the tone, but gave the question a long and serious thought. “I remember timing the sentries' patrol patterns.” He paused after the words passed through his lips; “Wait... is that... right?” he looked to the Paladins, confusion written on his face.

 

Lance shook his head; “No, that doesn't sound right at all. What about...” he snapped his fingers, thinking; “what's his name? The guy with the Blades.”

 

“Ulaz?” Hunk offered.

 

“Yeah, him!”

 

“Right... Ulaz helped me escape as they were-” he cringed at the intrusive memory, but shook it off quickly. He returned his attention to Slav; “What does this mean? If the others remember Ulaz, is the other a false memory?”

 

“On the contrary, it is very real, just from a previous fiber. One of the minute differences I spoke of.”

 

“Why would I remember that though?”

 

Slav shrugged and shook his head; “That I cannot say for certain, but it is fact that you are.”

 

“Hm...” All eyes shifted towards Pidge who now had her hands together with both her index fingers pressed to her chin, just under lips; “It could be possible that these fibers are still connected to us somehow even if it is technically a different reality. Much like the thread itself, we would just need something in common, which if there are only small differences, that could be a number of things.”

 

“And what are the odds of us getting sent backwards again?” Hunk questioned.

 

“As of right now, less than point one percent.” Slav zoomed out the time line, so all of the thread could be shown and where they branch off into the individual fibers; “Early on it would seem to be few and far between the loops, but here at the end, you can see multiple very close to one another.”

 

“So whatever is caused the loop might not have the power to do it anymore?” Lance interjected.

 

“Or has no reason to.” Pidge corrected.

 

“Okay...” Shiro said, taking as much of this information as he can; “So how do you figure this links back to the creature we fought?”

 

“Well I would have to do more research and what information we have is quite limited.” he pressed his index fingers together on multiple hands, his gaze shifted towards the floor with a sad expression in his eyes.

 

“Slav?” Sam questioned, concern coming through in his voice. The others around the table held the same expression of worry as they gazed upon the normally eccentric scientist.

 

“It is limited because we didn't gather much in tell before the Princess fell victim to it.”

 

Lance shot up like a rocket, slamming his hands against the table's surface; “You think it's that thing that possessed Allura?!” The thought of it was terrifying alone, that this thing could have become something like that inside the woman he loved.

 

“Again, without proper research I cannot and am not one hundred percent certain, but that is my theory, yes.”

 

Shiro stood from his seat, adjusting the front of his jacket as he did so; “Slav, keep doing whatever you have to do. Whether this theory pans out or not, we need to be ready for more of these to show up. Sam,” he turned his attention to his long time friend and mentor; “give him whatever assistance he might need. Pidge,” He looked over to the Green Paladin; “I want you on the bridge with Hunk and go through some weapons checks with Iverson. That Lion was able to do some damage, so run however many test comparisons you have to, but we need to refit our arsenal.” He then set his steel-like gaze on the Blue Paladin, placing his Altean hand on his shoulder; “I want you to come with me.”

 

Lance could only stare at him, but nodded and followed him out once he was set to move. It was a quiet walk to Shiro's office, but once the door closed behind them, the Blue Paladin voiced his worry; “What if Slav is right about that thing? What if it turned Allura-”

 

“It didn't.” Shiro interrupted.

 

“We knew those things were dangerous, why didn't we lock it up better? Why wasn't there more info recorded?” His voice raised in anger with each passing question, as he began to pace. He walked over to the left wall, his right hand began to shake as he balled it into a fist; “Why didn't I stop her?!” He punched the wall.

 

“Lance...”

 

“Why didn't she tell me?” His voice was soft with emotion, trying to hold back his tears; “Why didn't she just talk to me about this?” He paused, taking a shaky breath; “Why didn't I stop her?!” he cried out again.

 

Shiro moved to Lance's side, a comforting hand rested in the younger man's shoulder; “For the same reason that I lost Keith...”

 

“Keith is still here, Shiro.” He choked out.

 

The Admiral bit his bottom lip, pondering if he should let his friend know what he may have seen. If anything he knew love and hope were driving forces and right now it looked like Lance could use all the hope in the universe; “I think Allura is too.”

 

“You going to feed me that horse shit too? 'She's gone, but never forgotten'. You think I could ever forget?” He moved out of Shiro's touch and gestured around with his hands; “Juniper flowers are everywhere now, not just on Altea or Earth; EVERYWHERE. I can't go outside without thinking about her. And as Keith so kindly pointed out; he and I are marked by the person we love- I can't even look in the goddamn mirror without being reminded of her. Of MY mistake of not stopping her!”

 

“That's... not what I am saying at all.” Shiro was shocked at Lance's outburst. From what he could remember, Lance had been sad at first by Allura's sacrifice, but had never shown this level of emotion or regret over it; “Lance, how long have you been feeling like this?”

 

Lance had to think about that. It wasn't too long ago from his first outburst in the Garrison; “I guess... since we saw that clone of you in the hallway...”

 

Shiro took a long and deep breath, pinching the bridge of his nose; “Maybe this really is all connected...”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

He sighed; “That clone was Curtis. I don't now how, but he changed his form to look and sound like someone new. He had the same shadows that that creature had, same weakness as well... just like the Robeast that attacked the Earth.” he moved to go around the desk and sit in his chair.

 

Lance's blue eyes went wide; “The one that we took up into space?”

 

Shiro gave a slight nod, wincing at the pain behind his eyes. He could picture them going up, the five Lions with the large beast on their backs, hearing Keith give the order and all he could do was watch... “It's what came to mind as I fought him, though I couldn't place it at the time.” he said, pushing the memory aside. “But I have seen those shadows at least one other time.”

 

“You mean from the Altean Colonists?”

 

“No,” he swallowed; “I mean recently.”

 

The Blue Paladin turned to the desk and approached; “Where? When?”

 

Another deep breath exhaled from Shiro's lips; “What I am about to tell you can't leave the two of us.”

 

Lance nodded, though almost reluctantly. Shiro had promised to not withhold information from them anymore, but he also said he needed to be comfortable in sharing it.

 

“When I took the trial I saw...” he closed his eyes, composing himself; “I saw the clone- my body's clone, being encased by them.” he locked eyes with Lance; “The thing is, Krolia didn't see them.”

 

“But she's supposed to see everything, right?”

 

Shiro shrugged; “The suit may have malfunctioned, according to her, but I know what I saw.” he paused, rubbing the back of his neck.

 

“There's something else, isn't there?” he took a seat in one of the chairs in front of the desk.

 

He nodded, lowering the hand that was on his neck; “I think I saw Allura.”

 

Lance was at a loss for words. He leaned back in the chair, folding his arms; trying to think of what he knew about the Trials of Marmora. Though it wasn't much and possibly even just basic, he decided to voice his question anyway; “The trial is supposed to show you your hope and fear or whatever, right?” he saw Shiro nod; “So... why would you see her?”

 

“That's what I have been trying to figure ou-” He cut himself off, grunting in pain, as he felt the pressure build up behind his eyes again.

 

 _He could feel a pull tugging at his very soul as everything around him was dark. The colors of the Astral Plane now muted in the great beyond._ Shiro pulled his chair back away from the desk, wrapping his arms around himself, shivering. _He was cold and alone with nothing in sight. “Black?” he called out. He felt a gentle nudge as if pressing him forward. Moments later he could see a hand and something that sounded like it was calling him._

 

“Shiro?” Lance got out from his own seat when he witnessed his friend swivel his chair to the side, bending over with heavy breaths.

 

 _Something in him trusted the voice more and more as he heard it, telling him she had him and everything was okay. That she was bringing him home. Before he knew it he felt like he was becoming whole, voices- familiar voices, echoed off his ears. He felt a hand under him as well as two to the sides of his face. Suddenly the colors of the world came into view and he sat up with a gasp and a cough._ Shiro slid out of the chair onto his knees gasping.

 

“Hey, Shiro!” he scrambled to the other side of the desk, to kneel in front of him.

 

_He fell to his side, exhausted, into his best friend's arms. His friends cried tears of joy and out righted cheered as they saw him. But his eyes landed on the one who never gave up on him; “You found me...” he rasped out._

 

_Keith looked down at him, his expression fond as he held back his own tears. His voice almost betraying him; “We're glad you're back, Shiro.”_

 

_Allura smiled down at him as well; “Rest..”_

 

_Finding comfort in his family, he closed his eyes._

 

“Shiro. Shiro, can you hear me?” Lance asked, worried. His hands on Shiro's shoulders to steady him.

 

Shiro took a few even breaths, lifting his gaze to meet Lance's; “Yeah...”

 

“Was it bad?”

 

“Yes and no.” The Atlas Captain reached his human hand out to grab the end of the desk, lifting himself off the floor with some assistance from his friend; “Remembering what it felt like when you were dead is not something I would recommend.” he sighed.

 

Lance winced; “Do you need to talk to that therapist?”

 

Shiro shook his head; “I should, but not right now...” he slowly moved back into his chair; “I had forgotten that it was Allura who had brought me back. Keith found me; he just told her where to look.”

 

Lance gave a small, if not a little sad, smile; “Maybe that's why you saw her, she gave you a second chance.”

 

“Maybe... But I can't help but feel there is more to it than that. Just in the way I saw her, illuminated by the blue light... she was radiant.”

 

“She always was.” The Blue Paladin responded with a genuine grin.

 

“Still is.” Shiro corrected; “I'm not giving up hope; seeing her means something, just like kissing Keith means-” he cut himself off, his cheeks flushing. He swiveled his chair, so his back was now facing Lance. He cleared his throat; “I should go talk to the therapist.” he paused, realizing how that sounded; “About the flashback.” he added quickly.

 

“Sure, sure.” Lance chuckled, turning on his heels heading towards the door. It swooshed open, but he stopped just before the door frame; “Hey, Shiro?”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“You really think she's out there somewhere?”

 

“I do.”

 

Lance let a soft smile tug at the end of his lips; “Thanks for giving me hope.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This got split into two parts due to me going rogue from my notes, so now I have to reconstruct them, but I wanted to get what I had up, so I hope you all enjoyed it.
> 
> Follow me on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/LusciaKoushiro) to see how fics are progressing! ^_^


	7. The Pieces that Remain Part 2

Shiro sat silently for a few minutes, running the thumb of his Altean hand over the palm of his human one. There was a pause of hesitation in his movement, something uncertain or fear playing in his eyes.

 

“ _Shiro?”_ he heard a concerned voice in his head.

 

“I'm alright, Atlas.”

 

“ _You don't look alright.”_

 

“I promise, I'm okay. I just need to take care of a few things. Keep our course, I shouldn't be long.” When he didn't hear a protest he took it as her taking him at his word. He took another look at his human hand before making his decision; he took his prosthetic and ran it over the holo screen. Mere seconds later he became face to face with the Blade of Marmora leader.

 

“Shiro.” Kolivan said with a little shock.

 

“I apologize for disturbing you, especially at a time like this, but I have something I need to ask you.” Kolivan gave a nod, signaling the Admiral to continue; “When your agents were gathering intel during Zarkon's reign, did they happen upon anything from Haggar?”

 

“You seek more knowledge.”

 

“I have to know all the facts before I throw everyone into the fray. Living by your creed and as a leader, I know you know this.”

 

Another nod; “I myself have not seen anything, but I will have Decxovra and Vhydix look into our archives as they are still with you on the Atlas.” He paused, glancing over to another screen for a moment, before returning his attention to Shiro; “Though as I have said to you once before; 'sometimes the greatest challenge is knowing when to stop'.”

 

Shiro felt a grin pulling at the ends of his lips, recalling Kolivan saying that about Keith during his trial. “And like Keith, I will never quit; I wasn't made that way.” He stood from where he sat, mindlessly adjusting his jacket.

 

“I'd expect nothing less from the Captain of the Atlas. I will send the order straight away, good luck, Shiro.”

 

On the other side of the office where Kolivan resided; stood a slender, feminine looking figure. She leaned against the wall and door frame, listening carefully to the conversation. She smirked mischievously before vanishing out of sight.

 

Lance made his way back to the bridge, the door opening with its typical swoosh. Hunk and Pidge turned their attention from the screens next to and in front of Iverson towards him. The Yellow Paladin gave a soft and concerned look, his brown eyes locking with Lance's blue ones; “You okay?”

 

“Yeah,” he smiled; “talking with Shiro helped.”

 

“Where is Shiro?” Pidge inquired, leaning to one side to peer around her fellow paladin.

 

The smile was quick to fade as he raised a hand to the back of his neck; “He had a memory return to him while we were talking. Though it wasn't terrible, it was enough that he said he wanted to talk to that therapist.”

 

“Well I for one am glad he is finally talking to someone.” Hunk stated, smiling a little as he turned back to the screens.

 

True to his word Shiro made his way to the therapist's office. He sat in front of a desk, his hands folded in his lap, as his left knee bounced. The woman across from him jotted down a few notes before lifting her head to meet the gaze of the Atlas Captain; “It's alright to be nervous, Admiral, though there is no reason to be.” She said kindly.

 

“Please, call me Shiro, at least while we're in session.”

 

“Very well.” She flipped through a couple pages of notes; “Shiro, before we left the Garrison, I spoke with Commander Holt and he said that you seemed to have had a memory return to you when you were meeting with him and the Paladins, but didn't have anything of the sort for nearly two whole years. Is that correct?”

 

“Sort of?” he rubbed his left palm with his prosthetic.

 

The blonde woman rose from her chair, taking only a few steps to the side table that resided in the corner. She took the pitcher that rested upon it in her hand, filling up one of the glasses then handed it off to him as she came back to her seat; “Take your time.”

 

He gave a nod, taking a sip; “I would have nightmares, but I don't recall what happened in them to wake me up.”

 

“Do you have reason to believe that those nightmares were memories and not just bad dreams?”

 

“Yeah...” he took another sip; “Visually, I don't remember anything, but I remember hearing something.”

 

“What was it?”

 

“Operation Kuron.”

 

***

 

Shiro returned to his post on the bridge, with Lance interrupting his session over the communication unit stating; “You're going to want to see this...”

 

They were just outside of Altea, with the planet in view, his silver eyes going wide as he gazed upon the disintegrating mass. The picture before them was the exact image they had seen in the holograms; the planet's base crumbling and falling into the nothingness of space. He swallowed at the sight; “Veronica, open a hailing frequency to the Castle.”

 

“Yes, Sir.” she tapped a few keys on her console.

 

“Castle of Lions, this is Admiral Shirogane of the IGF-Atlas, do you copy?”

 

After just a moment Coran's face popped up on screen; “Shiro!” he exclaimed, elated at seeing his friend. He placed a hand over his heart, sighing in relief; “It's so good to see you again.”

 

“I just wish it was under better circumstances.” he frowned; “How are the evacuation efforts?”

 

“We are moving as fast as we can. Matt is already here with a few of the coalition ships. The planet seems to be as stable, as well as it can be, though we felt a shift roughly a varga ago.”

 

Shiro's face paled, his heart sinking.

 

“This isn't your fault, Shiro.” Coran said, quick to read the Admiral's face.

 

Shiro gave a nod, then looked to Lance; “Take us in.” he said as steadily as possible. He closed his eyes, attempting to center himself.

 

It was almost eerie when the Paladins set foot onto Altea's surface; the sky was stained red, Altea's sun melded into the color only to cast blood tinted shadows on everything below. A constant breeze blew as they walked, making their way to the Castle of Lions, causing the leaves of trees and petals of flowers to become loose and scatter on the winds.

 

“I don't know what I expected, but it definitely wasn't this...” Lance commented, his voice cracking ever so slightly.

 

Hunk gave a nod, slowly taking everything in as they walked. He swallowed hard as he caught a glimpse of a young Altean girl being held by her mother, sobbing into her shoulder, the cried out words barely making it to his ears; that she didn't want to leave their home. “Everything feels of dread... Like an impending doom.”

 

Shiro inhaled deeply, another attempt to keep his calm; “That's because it is.”

 

Hunk winced at Shiro's reaction, he looked to Lance and Pidge for help and thankfully the Green Paladin was quick to not let any kind of silence linger; “At least we were able to get the evacuation underway as soon as we could. Had Slav not discovered the Paradox, who knows what would have happened-” She stopped in her tracks just then.

 

_An echo of a young girl's giggle filled the air, soon followed by the deep laughter of an older man._

 

“ _You look pretty, Daddy!”_

 

Pidge turned in the direction of the voices. A few feet in the distance within the field of Juniper flowers was a little girl with long, flowing white hair and vibrant blue eyes. She sat in her father's lap while adjusting the flower crown on his head.

 

“Pidge?” Shiro asked with worry, his human hand resting on her shoulder. The touch and sound of his voice brought her attention back to them. “You okay?” he asked once she locked her hazel eyes to his silver ones.

 

“Yeah, I just thought I heard a child laughing...” she looked back to the spot, but it was just an empty field of flowers.

 

Shiro tightened his grip on her shoulder, letting her know that he was taking what she had heard seriously. Anyone else may have shaken it off, but the Admiral knew better; not everything was black and white. “Let's continue on to the castle.” he saw her nod before they continued to move forward.

 

It was only a few more steps before she stopped again, the same excited laughter bounced off the winds. Ahead of her on the pathway before of them, the Green Paladin could make out the little girl.

 

_The young Altean held the hand of an older man with short red hair and familiar mustache. The child let out a gasp of awe as the sound of multiple roars echoed through the skies._

 

The sound the of roars caused Pidge's attention to lift upwards. Her eyes went wide as she witnessed the Lions flying in formation to the castle.

 

_The girl spun around, taking her caretaker's hand in both of hers, attempting to pull him forward; “Daddy's back! Come on, Coran!”_

 

_Coran chuckled, giving into the pull; “Yes, yes, right away Princess.”_

 

“Hey~” Lance said, waving his hand in front of the younger Holt's face.

 

When her vision came back into focus, she batted it away. “It's just like on Olkarion...” Before anyone could question her, she took off in a full on sprint towards the castle.

 

“Hey, wait up!” Lance shouted, following suit with the other two close in tow.

 

“Pidge, you mind-” Hunk started, taking a breath as he ran; “explaining what's going on?”

 

“I'll explain in the hangers!” she called back.

 

“The hangers?”

 

Coran awaited them outside the castle doors, his eyes grew wide as he watched his friends race towards him like a stampede; “Paladins!” he cried out, only to have Pidge blow passed him.

 

“No time for greetings, Coran, we need to get to the hangers.”

 

Coran blinked, watching her run by. The others slowed their pace to stop before the older Altean. “Why the hangers?” he questioned, turning to face them.

 

Shiro shook his head; “I'm afraid we're just as in the dark as you are. She seemed to have seen something, twice, and before we knew it she was running.” he took a few steps forward himself, moving just passed Coran; “So I think it best if we follow her.”

 

Without further question, at least for the time being, they picked up their pace again to follow the Green Paladin. Their long strides made it easy to catch up to her as she made her twists and turns through the labyrinths of the castle.

 

“Pidge, I am not sure I understand.” Coran called out; “There's nothing in the hangers-”

 

“That's where you're wrong.” she said, slowing her movement as the hanger door opened. The others stopped behind her and before them sat the five Lions of Voltron.

 

“No way...” Hunk gasped.

 

“What the hell?!” Lance exclaimed.

 

Coran was in both awe and shock as he gazed upon the beasts. He was quiet for a few moments before whispering; “How are they here?”

 

Shiro turned his attention to the youngest Paladin; “Pidge?”

 

“The planet was talking to me, just like Olkarion did, through memories.” she took a couple steps inside the hanger to stand in front of Green. “The child I heard laughing was Allura, who looked like she was playing with King Alfor. And then the second time...” she glanced over to Coran; “I saw her with you. She was pulling you to the castle because the Paladins had come back.”

 

“That still doesn't explain why they're here.” Lance commented.

 

“Actually, it does.” she adjusted her glasses while turning around to face the group; “This IS Altea, brought back from a moment in time before it was destroyed. As Slav said, the Paradox was created because of the planet's return.”

 

“Okay, but when Allura first told us about the Lions, she said that Black would awaken if all the other Lions were present right? So, why are they just sitting here?” Questioned Hunk.

 

Pidge pondered momentarily, her index finger to her chin; “I can only venture a guess here, but it feels like the Lions are here for a reason. Logically, any moment before Altea was destroyed would have been fine, so why a pick a time where the Lions would be here?” she tapped her finger.

 

“You said you saw Allura, right?” Lance piped up; “Maybe this Altea is from her favorite year or something.”

 

That caught the youngest Holt by surprise; “That, actually makes sense.” she paused again, the gears turning over and over, a theory beginning to take shape.

 

Coran stared up at the beasts, still amazed to see them there. He had explored most of the castle himself within the two years he had been there, but within those two years he had found it harder and harder to pass through each hallway as it reminded him of his old home; the one he shared with his best friend, Alfor and the one in the same he would share later with his found family among the Paladins and of course the person he cherished most and thought of as his own daughter. “I was not wanting to believe that this place was from some time many deca-phoebs ago... That this was truly Altea, OUR Altea, but since that first quintant here after everything ended, it FELT like it was...” The Paladins watched him closely and listened with equal focus; “How could I have been so blind?” his hands balled into fists, shaking. Tears began to sting the back of his eyes; “How did I not know something was so amiss?”

 

Lance placed a comforting hand on the older gentleman's shoulder; “None of us knew at the time, Coran.” He could sense the spiral his friend was heading towards, having felt its pull twice already himself.

 

“It just doesn't seem right.” Hunk said, looking back towards the Lions; “Like we're their Paladins, right? Shouldn't they be awake with us here?”

 

“But we aren't their Paladins. Yet anyways.” Pidge corrected; “However I agree something feels off about them. It's like whatever spirit they had is just not there.”

 

“Could the Lions be from another point in time as well?” Shiro asked.

 

“I mean, it could be possible, but didn't the Lions come to life not long after being built and bond with the original Paladins?” she directed the question towards Coran.

 

He nodded in return; “Yes and aside from their cores void of power I myself have never seen them just dormant like this.”

 

Lance let his hand drop from Coran's shoulder, taking steps around the older man to stand right in front of the Red Lion; “Well, maybe all we have to do is knock.” He tapped his hand against the Lion's paw. They waited, but nothing happened; “I guess there really is no one home...”

 

“Try doing that to Blue.” Pidge instructed after a few ticks of silence.

 

He quirked an eyebrow at her; “Why? I'm Red's Paladin.”

 

“Not yet, you're not. A moment in time, remember? You'd have to be Blue's Paladin first, not to mention you woke her up before we even found the others.”

 

He shrugged; “It's worth a shot.” He moved to his left to stand in front of Blue, but instead of knocking, he placed the palm of his right hand against the cool metal. He closed his eyes, his thoughts shifting to who he feels is Blue's true Paladin and whispered; “I wish you could hear me...”

 

The others watched intently for but only a moment when their eyes were blown wide as they witnessed a small amount of light emitting off of the Blue Paladin.

 

“Uh, Lance, your face is glowing.” Hunk pointed out, his voice slightly shaken.

 

Lance made no move to respond to his friend. An audible gasp escaped his lips as he felt like he was running at super sonic speed, though he never moved an inch, with how is mind raced; like a fast and twisting roller coaster that left him feeling somewhat nauseated when the speed began to slow down.

 

“Lance?” he heard a beautiful, yet familiar voice say.

 

The Blue Paladin slowly opened his eyes, tears immediately wanting to spring forth as he set his sights on the woman to his left; “Allura?” he choked out.

 

Tears were in her eyes as well, she could only nod before closing the small distance between them and threw her arms around him, an embrace he was quick to return.

 

Keith smiled at the sight, letting them have their moment.

 

“It's you... It's really you... This isn't a dream, right?” Lance rambled, tightening his hold.

 

“It's not a dream, Lance.” Keith spoke up.

 

Lance jumped a little in surprise at the raspy voice. He pulled back, albeit slightly, from Allura's embrace; “Keith!” He saw him nod. Lance pulled all the way out of Allura's firm hug, now taking in his surroundings. He stood in front of the Blue Lion, now seeing the all too familiar colors and stars of the infinite void; “How? How are you here?” He paused, his mind reeling; “How am I here?” He paused again, fear and concern now replacing the joy on his face; “I'm not... we're not dead... are we?” That last thought sent him thinking back to his conversation with Shiro.

 

“No.” Keith replied simply.

 

“Honerva trapped us here.” Allura said, her voice low.

 

“You- have you been here the whole time?”

 

She nodded.

 

“And that's why you haven't woken up.” he said, looking to Keith.

 

“To make matters worse, she has the Lions.” Keith said, taking a look up at the Lion behind Lance; “Except for Blue, but who knows how long that will last.”

 

“But so do we.” The Blue Paladin interjected, a smirk playing on his face.

 

“How?” Allura questioned, shocked.

 

Lance took her hands in his; “Long story short, the planets weren't exactly brought back in a resurrected kind of way, they were brought back from a moment in time, from before they were destroyed.” he then went into brief detail of the visions Pidge had seen before they ran into the Caste of Lions; “The only thing we can't figure out right now is why they aren't responding to us, but we're working on it.” He tightened his grip on her hands, his smirk turning into a fond smile as he gazed into her blue eyes; “I can't believe you're here... Shiro was right, it did mean something.”

 

Keith quirked an eyebrow; “What meant something?”

 

“His vision from the Marmora Trial. He told me he saw Allura.”

 

Keith blinked, confused. “Care to elaborate on that?”

 

So Lance does, telling him everything that Shiro had told him and the others from when he was in the infirmary to their one on one conversation in his office. Keith crossed his arms over his chest; “So he really thinks the kiss wasn't real...” he whispered to himself, then dropped his hands to his sides, letting his left rest on his hip. “Guess that explains the shouting we heard from him, if he thinks he saw someone else there and not just the shadows.”

 

“Yeah, about those. Are they the same thing that...” The Blue Paladin lowered his gaze, losing his eye contact with his love, letting his train of thought trail off.

 

She frowned; “Yes.”

 

If it was possible his grip tightened more and he felt her return it, whether it was him giving her strength or vice versa it didn't matter. Lance took a deep breath; “More of those things have appeared in our reality.”

 

“You said that Altea was brought back from a moment in time?” She asked and saw him nod in reply; “If you are seeing them than I think it's safe to assume Daibazaal was brought back from when the rift was open. Who knows how many have escaped through.”

 

No sooner had those words left the Princess' lips did the black slithering shadows materialize below them. They began molding themselves into the odd shapes; nothing humanoid among them. Keith unsheathed his blade; “Damn it.”

 

Lance's eyes widened as he watched the shadow army form, his two friends standing in front of him, going on the defensive.

 

“She knows you're here...” Allura said, gritting her teeth as she transformed her Bayard into a spear.

 

Before his eyes, the two of them began to fade, their forms glimmering into stardust. “Wh-what's happening?” Lance stammered. Though he had no weapon or any way to really defend himself, he wanted to help.

 

Keith looked over his shoulder, a smirk playing on his face; “Lance, when you see Shiro, tell him...”

 

Keith's voice began to sound distant as the super-sonic speed feeling came back to the Blue Paladin. The twists and turns, the ups and down and the nausea hitting him all at once. His arm was outstretched as he yelled; “Keith!”

 

“Not exactly what I expected you to shout...” Pidge commented as she leaned over him, adjusting her glasses.

 

Lance's vision came into focus then, recognizing the Green Paladin's voice. He was lying on his back on the floor. Slowly he brought the out stretched hand to his head and groaned.

 

“You okay, man?” Hunk asked; “You spaced out for a second and then just kinda fell over.”

 

“Yeah, I'm fine.” he looked over to Shiro; “You were right, Allura is out there. She's with Keith.”

 

Utter shock rang through the chorus of voices as the “what?!” “how?!” “what the quiznak?” echoed off the hanger walls. The Atlas Captain looked at him questioningly, but also a look in his eyes that said “I told you not to say that in front of everyone.” Lance sluggishly got to his feet, keeping his gaze held to Shiro's; “I don't know how, but I managed to reach the void and both of them were there. Honerva is holding them captive.”

 

“She's still alive?” Hunk questioned.

 

He shrugged; “I guess? All I know is that's what Keith and Allura told me. Keith also had a message for you.” Though the situation remained serious, he couldn't help but smirk, just as the Leader of Voltron had; “He said you have soft lips.”

 

A flash of red began to rise in Shiro's cheeks. He brought his prosthetic to his lips as he turned away from the group. He could feel the eyes of the others on him and as much as he would have liked to linger on the thought of the chaste kiss among the stars of the Astral Plane, he cleared his throat returning to his Admiral composure. “Looks like we have our work cut out for us. Continue with assisting in the evacuation, I am going to return to the Atlas and begin preparations for moving the Lions.” he paused, watching them nod before turning to Coran; “Gather whatever else you can from the castle that you think could be of use to us.”

 

The older man saluted and with the orders given, the team split up to their duties. Shiro made long strides back to the Atlas only to be greeted by Krolia on the way up the ramp back into the ship. She held a data pad in her hand and somewhat of a scolding look in her eyes, a look only a mother could give; “Do the others know you are looking into this?”

 

He sighed, stopping before her. Though Kolivan had said the other two would be doing the digging into the archives, of course they would have to report to their senior officer aboard the Atlas. “They do not, but I don't plan on keeping what I find from them.”

 

She handed the data pad over; “It appears there was quite a bit she documented, so it will take some time to go through.” she warned; “So whatever you're looking for, you best get started. I'll go help the others in your stead.”

 

“You're not wanting to stay with Keith?”

 

She frowned, her violet eyes sorrowful; “He started to scream and thrash about again, the doctors had no choice but to place him back in the restraints.” she heaved a heavy sigh; “I know they are doing it for his safety, but as his mother it's more than a little hard to watch.”

 

Shiro moved to say something, but winced as he felt the twinge of pain behind his eyes. Krolia's sentiment was one he knew well; a moment of helplessness and fear all wrapped up into one. The flash behind his eyes had him back on the bridge of the Atlas as he watched the Lions take the Robeast up into orbit and another quick flash to the horror as he watched as his friends came crashing down; the Black Lion being the closest. His own front row seat to what could have been the death of his heart and soul. The Admiral came back quickly as he felt the planet shift.

 

“You alright?” Krolia asked, more concerned with the man before her than the crumbling earth.

 

He gave just the slightest of nods, his silver orbs expressing his own sadness; “I know exactly how you feel; no one ever wants to feel helpless, especially when it comes to someone they love.” He placed a kind hand on her shoulder; “We'll get him back. I told him once that I would never give up on him and I don't intend to break that promise.”

 

She smiled at that, placing a hand to the man's wrist; “Thank you, Shiro.” she removed her grasp on him so he could retract his hand; “I'll be back to check on him in a few vargas.” With that she turned on her heels and made her way down the ramp.

 

Shiro made a quick trip to Sam and informed him of the Lions' presence, giving the order to have all hands that are available to bring the mechs aboard the ship. His long legs then ventured the halls, bringing him to his office. He sat behind his desk, turning his monitor on, then looked to the data pad screen. There were indeed a lot of files and he expected nothing less from the Blades of Marmora when it came to gathering all the information. He synced the hand-held device to his computer, watching the folders pop up on his larger screen. He opened one file and frowned when he saw it in Altean. He opened another and another and another, only for them all to be in the same language. He sighed, clicking through some options to open a translation program.

 

“This is going to take awhile...”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Follow me on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/LusciaKoushiro) to see how fics are progressing! ^_^


	8. Stories Never Told

Large footsteps echoed off the hangar floor of a Blade of Marmora base, her one good eye looked to her lover in confusion; “Ezor? Is something wrong?”

 

She shook her head, her perky smile plastered on her face as it usually was; “Not at all, but I did just speak with Kolivan. He's wanting us to bring our Commander back here as soon as possible.”

 

“But isn't Krolia with him on the Atlas?”

 

“She is, but Kolivan feels it is distracting her from the mission. He'll be safe here and we can all get our work done for the evacuation.”

 

To that Zethrid could only nod; it sounded somewhat logical and Ezor has never given a reason for her to cast any doubt. “Let's go then,” she said with a smile; “will be nice to have some time just the two of us.” she saw Ezor nod and reach a hand out to her. Hand in hand they entered the pod and took off from the Blade's base on the disintegrating Daibazaal.

 

***

 

The blood red sun had begun to set, the stars above did not shine among the blackness. Shiro had remained in his office the entire time, but had received word from the Atlas crew that the Lions were safe in the hangars on board the ship. His back was turned to the door as he thumbed through reports on the evacuation efforts, the door swooshing open causing him to startle and whip around to see the Paladins entering one after the other. “Everything okay?”

 

“We should be asking you that.” Lance said.

 

Hunk nodded in agreement; “We started to worry when you didn't come back, its been hours.”

 

“Sorry, I never meant to alarm anyone-” and just as the word alarm left his lips, a chime from his computer went off. His face dropped whatever facade he might have been trying to pull off; he was busted.

 

“And what exactly have you been doing?” Pidge questioned, now trying to get a glimpse of the files on the larger monitor.

 

Shiro took a deep breath in, another one of those moments he had to find the center of himself. “Something we should have looked into a long time ago. For one reason or another we only kept up with intel on Zarkon himself; following his movements and later both Lotor and Sendak, but not once did we ever consider Haggar to be a threat or at least not to the extent that she is.” he looked to the monitor; “Kolivan sent me everything the Blades had, I was just about to start going through it.”

 

“Well, lets get started.” The Blue Paladin said, sitting in one of the chairs in front of the desk.

 

Hunk took the seat next to him while Pidge leaned in closer on the desk. Shiro couldn't help but let a small smile tug at his lips as he divided up the now translated files.

 

Hours had passed, the blood red sun now has set and the Atlas' day/night setting has indicated it was well into night. Corran had taken his leave of the Castle, bringing aboard everything he thought would be useful and much to the Paladin's delight, he brought them food from the cafeteria aboard the ship. All of them ate as they poured over every last detail within the documents and it was the Green Paladin who had taken notice of something peculiar.

 

“Hm... is anyone else's notes saying the same date more than once?”

 

They all looked at their documents, giving her a nod.

 

“It is a little weird, but not uncommon I don't think; to make notes and add to them the same day.” Hunk said with a small shrug.

 

“Sometimes, no, but typically you would just add onto the note itself with something like a bullet point as an indicator if one was needed.” She scrolled through the document; “TL-3.” She scrolled more; “TL-4.” she looked up; “You guys seeing that too?”

 

Another set of nods.

 

“What does it mean?” Corran asked.

 

“Typically TL stands for Time Line, at least on Earth's social media. Looking through these notes, it looks like she is aware of the time loop, but isn't the cause of it.”

 

“That's something I guess.” Lance said with a shrug, scrolling through his data pad. His blue eyes almost shot out of his head as he gazed upon one word; cloning. “Shiro, do you know what Operation Kuron is?”

 

Shiro stilled, immediately lifting his silver gaze to meet Lance's; “What file is that in?”

 

“File name: Champion.” he paused, watching the Admiral load up the files on his own screen; “You know what it is, don't you?” he asked warily.

 

Shiro swallowed; “Only the name.” was all he said as he began to read through the notes themselves. As he read he felt a shiver run down his spine, the analyzing of his time in arena; what caused that “spark” in him to fight, that he was a stunning creature who in some cases used his brain over brawn. The perfect weapon if under the right influence. The next line held the same date only with a question mark next to it, stating that she seemed to have had something a akin to deja vu. The queries and theories from before repeated under the question marked date with something new under the “spark”.

 

_Is it hope or desire? His memories revealed the same person over and over. Is it possible that this person is a strength or a weakness?_

 

The next date labeled as TL-3, the statement of deja vu once again appeared along with previous notes, but also with another observation.

 

_Time appears to be looping backwards,but from what? What has this power? One thing thus far has remained the same; the Champion's will. His soul is the key. If we can manufacture another... yes, he will be our ultimate weapon._

 

Pidge removed herself from the end of the desk where she had been to stand behind Shiro, reading over his shoulder, leaning a hand on the desk's rim. The notes labeled as TL-3 and TL-4; TL-3 citing failures.

 

_The drive and will to fight is there but not the conviction. Why? Where is the heart? Deeper, I must dig deeper._

 

Shiro went to scroll down some more when Pidge grabbed hold of his wrist, her hazel eyes catching on something; “Wait, let me read that again.” She re-read the lines; stating that the failures could be of use, her eyes grew wide; “Shiro... how many clones of you were there?”

 

He shook his head; “I-I don't know... I-I remember a cloning facility. Rows and rows of glowing tubes.” His eyes quivered thinking back, remembering again the tone and hurtful words he spoke. His blade grazing his love's cheek and the crazed daze being broken upon Keith's confession. He moved his human hand to touch his right shoulder; “Keith...” He said weakly, just like on that day.

 

Pidge gave him a small hug, not saying a word, just holding him until he came back from the memories.

 

“Katie...” he whispered.

 

She nodded; “You're okay, Shiro.” she said softly, easing up on her hold. She then started to scroll through the document in Shiro's stead. The TL-4 entry celebrated victory upon creating the perfect copy of the Champion, though many defects remained. “With this, my champion will infiltrate Team Voltron upon the defeat of Emperor Zarkon and the demise of the Black Paladin. The failures will serve as hosts for those from the rift. Though not perfect with an actual 'soul', these bodies have more than enough Quintessence to feed on and power my Acolytes.” She read, then stood up straight behind Shiro's chair; “That's why she trapped Keith... He's a walking battery.”

 

“Battery?” Lance questioned.

 

She nodded; “Keith seems to have an over abundance of Quintessence, thus potentially making him sensitive or powerful in whichever way you want to look at it. Remember he was the one who could feel Blue back on Earth and he wasn't her chosen Paladin. Black takes the most Quintessence to pilot and he could do it with ease, practically without tiring. He also managed to call his Bayard from across the room when none of us could.”

 

“Okay, say he is sensitive or has a ton of Quintessence; when we were in the Quintessence Field, shouldn't he have gone mad like Haggar and Zarkon? Or even Lotor from all that exposure?” Asked Hunk.

 

“That's what might make Keith special in this case. He either might not succumb to it or it takes more than the average amount to drive him insane.” Corran voices, pondering as he twirled his mustache.

 

Shiro stayed quiet during the conversation, taking deep breaths to keep himself steady and calm. He felt Pidge's hand on his shoulder as she leaned in again to scroll through more of the documents.

 

“The Red and Black Paladins are key; a constant in all realities. I must ensure they stay separated. I have equipped both clones with the Galran arm. If all else fails they have a weapon, but it has been programmed to take the body and mind of another thanks to the entity of the rift. The first will be placed on an asteroid within the Klii-Nyn system; Kova will stand watch and await activation. The second will be sent to Earth, infiltrating this Galaxy Garrison the Champion is apart of.” she read aloud again.

 

“Taking the body and mind of someone...” Lance cringed as he repeated it.

 

Hunk tapped his index finger to his chin; “But it's not completely taking it really. If it truly ripped it off said person,” he paused, shuddering too at the thought; “than the clone would keep its shape, right? But we know it didn't, so it's kind of like that spell from Monsters and Mana... Glamour was it?” he turned to Corran.

 

“That's not too far off, Hunk, at least for its appearance and voice. In terms of memory the arm could just be downloading the person's thoughts.” Corran stated.

 

“Infiltrate the Garrison...” Shiro repeated, barely above a whisper. He took the data pad that he had resting on his desk, booting up Garrison personnel files, searching the backlogs for the name of his former husband; logs from before they had returned to Earth. Moments later his hands began to shake along with his breaths.

 

“Shiro?” Pidge asked, stepping back as Shiro moved the chair backwards.

 

He stood on wobbly legs, the data pad dropping to the floor; “I-I need to go...” was all he could say as he moved passed his friends and out the door, his hand to his head the entire way.

 

The Green Paladin bent down to pick up the fallen data pad, glancing at its contents. The others turned their attention to her after the door had swooshed closed, her hazel eyes sad.

 

“What's it say?” Lance questioned.

 

“Curtis M. Communications Officer. Age: 22 Family: Mother, Father, Sister.” She paused, heart sinking as she recognized the name; “Fiance: Adam W.”

 

“Wait, wait wasn't that Shiro's boyfriend?” The Yellow Paladin asked.

 

She nodded in return, continuing her reading; “Count One Reprimand: Though unintentional, communications on an insecure network in an effort to reach the Paladins of Voltron resulted in the Galra being lead to Earth, causing the invasion.” Pidge met everyone's concerned gaze, knowing they had the same thought after reading part of Haggar's plan. With one last swipe of her finger she brought up Adam's file and in that moment her heart went out to Shrio. “Adam W. died in the line of duty in the first wave to defend the Earth from invasion...”

 

“We should go make sure he's okay, right?” Hunk said, turning towards the door.

 

Coran shook his head; “I think we should leave him be for now.” his voice was soft and somber.

 

Pidge gave a sad nod; “And unfortunately, the one person who he would have no problems talking to isn't technically here right now...”

 

“Then until he feels he's okay,” Lance began, looking back down at his data pad; “We'll continue on for him.”

 

Shiro walked with his head down, paying no mind to the crew around him; all their voices were muddled and muted to his ears. It felt like the longest minutes of his life when he managed to reach the door to his quarters. Once he stepped inside and the door shut behind him he fell to his knees, his legs giving out underneath him. His vision remained on the floor in front of him until he heard a familiar whine. Slowly he lifted his gaze to see Kosmo hunching over in front of him; “I thought you were with Keith...” Another whine came out in response, along with a gentle nuzzle to the Admiral's cheek. Shiro placed his arms around the wolf, hugging him as tears formed in his eyes; “It's been a long day...”

 

***

 

_The roaring of the crowd increased as Shiro took his place on his side of the arena. He inhaled and shut his eyes in attempt to drown them out, the grip he had on the sword's hilt tightened. With each match, it was getting harder and harder to ignore the blood lust in the spectators' cheers. Upon opening his eyes he could see his opponent being shoved into the arena, forcefully enough that they fell face first into the dirt._

 

_Shiro could only look with concern in his eyes; many matches prior had him fighting other prisoners, it was nothing new to him, but this... this was unacceptable. Before him, getting to their feet was a young girl who couldn't have been older than fifteen, if he went by Earth years. Her white and redish-purple hair fell just above her shoulders. Her violet gaze locked with his, a feral almost crazed look within them as she went into a hunched over stance, her claws and fangs bared. He watched as her ears flattened as she let out a sinister yell and before he knew it she was darting at him in full force._

 

_He jumped back quickly, avoiding the first few swipes, causing the crowd to erupt. He tossed the sword to the side, getting even more of a reaction from the spectators. Among the average crowd noise he could hear a few choice words; “Easy win!” “Break her in two!” “Smear this half-breed across the floor!” His silver eyes never left her violet ones, the concern turned into sorrow as he continued to evade and block._

 

“ _You don't have to do this!” Shiro said, attempting to shout over the crowd; “I don't want to fight you...” Truth was he never wanted to fight any one of the other prisoners, they were forced into it and fought for survival just as he had, but never, not once, was he forced to fight a child. How could he strike her?_

 

“ _What are you afraid of, Champion?!” she responded with a snarl._

 

_Shiro couldn't answer at that moment, there was in fact plenty he was afraid of..._

 

_Time ticked on and the crowd was becoming restless; throwing out more slurs to his opponent, demanding to see blood staining his knuckles. He felt his muscles ache, but also noticed her speed had slowed down significantly, but the fire in her eyes never went out. The strikes that did manage to land on his arms were nothing more than a light grazing of a finger nail. “Please... I don't want to hurt you.”_

 

“ _Why? Why do you show mercy to a Galra?” she asked, her voice tired._

 

“ _You're no different from me. You deserve so much more in life, better than what they are forcing you to become.”_

 

_Among the audience a clear-cut, deep voice boomed over the rest, talking to the girl; “Prove you are a true Galra! Slice his throat!”_

 

“ _Vrepit...” her form faltered, sluggish with fatigue. Her violet eyes softening and right then Shiro could see the childlike innocence within them, “Sa...” her eyes slipped closed as she fell forward._

 

_Shiro immediately let his defense fall and caught the girl before she could hit the ground. The young Lieutenant stared at her sleeping form, the spectators' cries of disappointment ringing in his ears and in that moment all he could think to do was hug her; a silent gesture he hoped she would understand, if she could feel it. A gesture meaning someone cared._

 

_Both ends of the arena opened up again, their respective guards and escorts retrieving them. Shiro managed to whisper an “I'm so sorry...” before being shackled. He watched as a very tall and broad Galra picked up the girl and as he walked away he heard him mutter the word; “useless” to the child. Just as Shiro was ready to take charge against the larger man, shackled or not, another restraint was put around his neck. His escort tugged on the chain attached to the collar, commanding Shiro to follow._

 

_Shiro kept his gaze down as they walked the halls of the ship. He could hear the whispers of some of the guards about the failed match and feel the heated glares and spit of disdain. He soon stopped in front of a door that he realizes is not his cell and before he could question, he was tugged forward inside upon its opening._

 

“ _You were such a disobedient pet, today.” The escort, Sendak, said; attaching Shiro's neck chain to the wall then shoving him to his knees._

 

_The forcefulness was enough for his aching muscles to scream at him, but his gaze was fiery steel; “What happened to the girl?!”_

 

_A clawed hand slapped him across the face; “She is the least of your worries, Champion. A half-breed like her never gets the chance to prove their worth, let alone deserve to breathe. She should consider herself lucky.”_

 

“ _How dare you... She's just a kid-” the clawed hand then made its way to Shiro's throat._

 

_The vacant, yellow stare bore into him; “You best start worrying about yourself instead of that worthless hunk of flesh.” The hand moved lower, to the collar of the ragged shirt that rested upon Shiro's torso and with one swift movement it tore, exposing scarred flesh. The Galra stepped back, retrieving the whip that rested on the back wall; “You are Zarkon's toy, you see. And every broken toy can be fixed.” A booming crack of the whip echoed off the tiny cell's wall, along with a painful scream as it brandished a deep mark along his chest. “And I am going to make sure you remember that every time you are able to see your reflection...”_

 

_Shiro lifted his gaze, seeing the arm with the whip stretch back then swing outward. His eyes snapped shut, the sickening crack of the leather striking his face..._

 

Shiro awoke with a scream, shooting straight up in his bed; hands rushing to his nose. His breaths were quick, his tank-top was soaked with sweat and every part of him began to shake. Kosmo woke up at the sound of the Admiral's distress. As always he let out a whine to let Shiro know he was there only this time he didn't acknowledge it. The wolf tried again, nudging him with his head, letting out a small, quiet 'woof'. Shiro jerked at the touch, shoving the animal away with his shoulder then scrambled off of the bed, stumbling over the blanket that had gotten tangled around his legs. He managed to crawl halfway to the door before turning himself over to face the other in the room.

 

Kosmo was slowly walking towards him, reading Shiro's actions as one of fear and stay away. The wolf got close enough where he could lick Shiro's cheek, letting out a whine as he saw and felt the man shudder. He did it again and again until he felt a quivering hand touch behind his ear; “Kosmo?” Shiro asked, his voice cracking. The wolf softly barked again as a 'yes'.

 

Shiro took a deep, shaking breath as he wrapped his arms around the wolf. Upon instinct, Kosmo blinked them away, transporting them to Keith's bedside. Shiro leaned back against the bed a few moments later, letting out a heavy sigh as he scratched behind Kosmo's ear.

 

“Keith? Allura asked as she watched her friend that was kneeling only a few feet away from her.

 

His braid rested over his shoulder as he reached out his hand, his eyes closed. With all the comfort he could muster he said; “It's gonna be okay, Shiro.”

 

Feeling a sense of calm, Shiro rolled his head to the side as if into Keith's touch.

 

“It's going to be okay...” he repeated.

 

“How can you be so sure of that, Keith?” Allura said softly, but made sure it was loud enough for her friend to hear.

 

Keith didn't look back, keeping his vision downward and his hand outstretched as if seeing and touching his beloved; “Because, there is only one thing I have ever been sure of in my life and that's Shiro.” He retracted his hand once he was sure that Shiro had calmed down enough, now turning to face Allura; “With everything he has been through, he's found a way to overcome any obstacle that stood in his way. So if anyone can get us out of here and stop whatever it is she's planning, it's him.”

 

She had no doubt in Shiro's abilities to problem solve, it's what made him a good leader, but there were more pieces to the puzzle than just getting out of where they were; “But how is it you can hear him? Touch him? Talk to him? It seems different than when we dove into Voltron's inner Quintessence or when we confronted the paladins of old... my father...”

 

“I'm not too sure of that myself...” Keith admitted; “But it's not the first time. Remember when I said I heard him talking to me? How I knew where he was inside Black?” He saw her nod; “I called out to him too, when I was trying to reach everyone. I felt his hand on my shoulder as he told me to 'see through the Lion's eyes'.” A small smile tugged at the end of his lips, “I then felt his hands on top of mine as Black teleported to you all.” He gave a passive shrug, “So maybe it's our connection to Black.”

 

Allura shook her head; “I can say for a fact that it's not.”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

She let out a sad sigh; “When I removed his consciousness from the Black Lion, the bond he had with her severed...”

 

The Red Paladin's violet eyes went wide, his shock leaving a moment of silence in order for his brain to try to process; “How-? Why would you do that?!”

 

“It's hard to explain...” her voice was small, guilt seeping into her posture.

 

“Shiro and Black had the strongest bond out of all of us, especially after something like that.” The expression in his eyes then shifted from shock and somewhat angry to worried; “Was it because of me?”

 

“No, Keith.” The Princess replied quickly; “But you aren't wrong. Their bond was strong, so strong that she let him go. I could feel it...”

 

“But why?”

 

“That I do not know, but what I do know is that I believe you have reached out to Shiro one other time.”

 

“When? I can't think of another-” he paused, thinking back to when he stood by the healing pod, watching the vitals slip away; “When I begged him to live...”

 

She nodded; “As I said then, there was nothing I could do for him.”

 

“And he had just been pulled out of Black so the bond was gone... So how?”

 

“That's what I am wondering, but it does bring up a question I have had for awhile now.” She looked towards Blue, “Since bonding with the Black Lion, could you still feel Red?”

 

He thought about it, lingering on his answer for a few moments before he came to his conclusion; “No...”

 

She gave a nod figuring as much; “I had often wondered if Lance could still feel Blue after I became her Paladin...” she sighed, slumping down against the Lion's paw; “I can't help but feel this is all my fault.”

 

Keith watched her as she brought her knees up to her chest, resting her arms and chin atop of them. “Don't say that.” he said, sitting beside her; “You couldn't have known that our bonds would be lost-”

 

“I should have known better than to give in! I should have talked more about it or listened to everyone when I had...”

 

“Oh...” Keith paused; “You're not talking about the bonds anymore, are you?”

 

She shook her head, now resting her forehead against her arms, hiding her eyes that now threatened to shed tears; “If I had only told someone how I was feeling, if I had said something instead of thinking it was my only choice... Thinking that I was all alone...”

 

Hesitantly, Keith placed an arm around the Princess, pulling her a little closer; “You're not alone in feeling that way.” he paused, looking up; “I've been there.”

 

“Keith?”

 

“Giving up your own life is not something that should ever be taken lightly, but when a decision needs to be made, sometimes it feels like the only way...”

 

Slowly Allura lifted her gaze to look at him; “Keith, when did you...?”

 

He swallowed; “Naxzela...”

 

After some time Shiro managed to pick himself up off the floor to sit on Keith's bedside, taking a hold of his hand and giving it a squeeze; “I wonder what you would think of me, if you knew everything I had to do in the name of the Champion...” he whispered.

 

Kosmo let out another whine as he rested his head on the intertwined hands, feeling the heavy weight of emotion that lingered within Shiro's heart. The Admiral used his prosthetic to pat the wolf; a motion that both of them have become accustomed to and seemingly both were grateful for.

 

The door to the infirmary then opened, causing both Shiro and Kosmo to shift their attention to it, revealing Zethrid and Ezor. Shiro gazed at them questioningly; “What are you two doing here? I thought you were assisting in Daibazaal's evacuation.”

 

“Kolivan requested us to retrieve our commander.” Ezor said matter-of-factly.

 

Shiro looked the two of them over with tired eyes, something in his guts wasn't settling right; “I don't recall hearing that request.”

 

“Oh.” she shrugged, her mischievous grin on her face; “Well, must be an oversight. But we have our orders to escort him to the Celevieon system where we can seek his treatment.”

 

The relay of orders sounded strong and sure, but the Atlas Captain clearly believed none of it. He let go of Keith's hand as Kosmo moved away, standing to face them, his brows furrowed; “You're not taking him anywhere.”

 

Kosmo could sense something amiss too as he growled in her direction, hunching over at the ready to guard his master.

 

The playfulness on Ezor's face turned sinister; her eye glowing a bright yellow with flecks of purple; “I'm afraid you don't have a choice, Champion-” she phased out of sight only to move swiftly and quietly into the room, reappearing behind Shiro and kicked him hard enough to send him across the room, crashing into a tray of medical utensils.

 

The Admiral slowly got to his feet, shacking off the shock from the hit; “Kosmo!” Shiro yelled and as if the wolf knew what he was going to suggest, the animal lunged forward, chomping on to the Ezor's wrist; teleporting them out of the room and down the hall. Quickly, Shiro scrambled to follow with Zethrid not far behind him. Once they were in the hallway, Atlas changed the layout of her halls and rooms, moving Keith out of harms way.

 

Ezor managed to shake out of the space wolf's maw, much like how Curtis had done; slamming the animal against the wall in a rough motion. “What are you waiting for?! Go find the Red Paladin!” She yelled, directing the order and irritation to a quite stunned Zethrid.

 

“Ezor?” The larger Galra questioned, concern written all over her face. She took a step forward, but was stopped by Shiro.

 

“That's not Ezor.”

 

“Don't listen to him!”

 

Zethrid looked between the two, confused.

 

“Zethrid, as much as it hurts to think about it, remember why you lured the Paladins to that poisonous planet.” he winced at his own recollection; of standing there, mouth agape, as she held Keith hostage. He swallowed; “You claimed it was because she left you, but that isn't right, is it?”

 

“No...” was the whispered response, her hand gripping her forehead, the echo of her own voice ringing in her mind; “Now you'll feel what I feel!” And she could picture clearly the gun being pointed at Shiro.

 

“How could Keith or I feel the same way you did if your heart didn't die?”

 

“Ezor... My Ezor...” her voice was shaky as she whispered, holding back the sorrow of the memory; the crystal clear image of her holding Ezor's body, screaming in agony.

 

“You know this isn't her. Too forceful, too authoritative.”

 

“That's enough out of you, Champion!” Ezor shouted her voice beginning to break; the facade cracking as she swiftly hurled herself at the Atlas Captain.

 

Atlas again shifted her layout, erecting a wall between combatants and Zethrid before moving the walls around, placing Zethrid outside of Krolia's quarters. Shiro and Ezor were still in the hall, but now stood in front of two large, double doors. Shiro forcefully placed his hand on the scanner, opening the doors to reveal the wide open space of the hangars. Ezor scowled,forcefully pushing both of them inside.

 

Kosmo teleported hastily to Lance's room, landing atop of the slumbering man. The Blue Paladin groaned at the unexpected weight. With sluggish movements, he removed his sleep mask; “Kosmo?” was all he could say before the wolf blinked them out of the room and into Hunk's quarters.

 

The skirmish between the Admiral and Blade commenced, a flurry of blows traded; each one blocked by the other. The last strike having so much force that it felt like a tug-of-war with how long it was held before they both jumped back. Ezor snarled; “I won't have you spoiling my plans again, Champion!” She raised her right arm, now splintering out with jagged pieces of metal, transforming up to her shoulder.

 

Shiro gasped at the sight, a small, quick flash behind his eyes showing the clone body exhibiting the same shape and ability. Swiftly he moved his prosthetic in front of him, bracing himself with its now formed shield as his opponent fired a powerful blast from the mini zaiforge cannon that emitted from her palm. “Atlas!”

 

Immediately upon his call, Atlas began to close off all hallways, the emergency lights began to flash red and the alarms blaring around every corner.

 

Kosmo made his third round of teleports, landing in Pidge's room with Hunk and Lance.

 

“What's going on?” Hunk asked.

 

The Green Paladin reached for her data pad, sending out a call to Sam; “Dad,” she says right when she sees his face on screen; “What's happening? It feels like Atlas is going nuts!”

 

No sooner had she said those words did Lance's face pale; “Where's Shiro?”

 

The blast was strong; strong enough to push the Black Paladin back, the shield beginning to give away under the sheer force. Shiro grunted as the first crack started to spider; “Atlas!” he called again and like before, she knew the request as a wall quickly appeared between the beam and the shield. It wasn't much, but it bought the Admiral enough time to drop the shield and dodge roll out of the way as the blast seared through the temporary wall and scorched the back one of the hangar. Upon stopping his roll, Shiro positioned himself on one knee, swiftly jerking his prosthetic outwards to his right side; like he used to with his Galra arm, but this time it felt different; not the usual heat that came with the motion and activation, but a warm tingly sensation as he felt pieces of the bulky metal break away. The pieces floated around where they broke off before moving upwards to where his bicep should be and in his palm he felt the weight of something he himself hadn't felt since their fight with Zarkon; the Black Bayard. The weight in his hand was brief as the energy from it began to join with the other bits of his Altean arm. Once the tingling stopped he felt a new serge of Quintessence flow through his veins; something familiar, yet new, making him feel whole; complete. When he took a quick glance to his right, the word broken seemed to leave his mind completely as he gazed upon his fully formed arm; white metal alight with purple and blue.

 

Ezor began to emit the shadowy tendrils, the arm glowing and ready for a heavy impact as she let out a banshee like wail, dashing forward. Shiro got to his feet, standing firm; _'Patience yields focus...'_ he thought and just as she flew towards him, he blinked out of sight, reappearing behind her. His fist was charged up, empowered by the purple and blue energy; with as much for as he could muster, he punched her at the base of her spine, sending her sailing towards the exit to the hangar.

 

Shiro went down to one knee again, placing his right arm in front of him, generating a new shield; one that encased the small area around him like a particle barrier and with him protected, he gave one last call to Atlas.

 

Ezor attempted to stand, managing to get to one knee herself when the doors behind her began to open; sucking her out into the depths of space. Once the doors were closed again, Shiro let the barrier fall; standing once again he turned his attention to his arm and as he looked at it, he could have sworn he heard a purr in the back of his mind.

 

“Shiro!” he heard the youngest Holt shout, pulling him from his thoughts.

 

The Admiral turned to the hangar entrance to see the three Paladins standing next to Kosmo along with Krolia and Zethrid entering behind them from the open doors.

 

“Are you okay?” Lance asked; “We started to really get worried when Atlas went into lock down.”

 

“I'm fine.” he replies simply, returning his silver gaze to his arm; the others followed.

 

“Whoa... Shiro, how did you do that?” Hunk questioned in pure awe of the sight.

 

“I wish I knew. I was fighting, then the next thing I knew I had the Black Bayard in my hand, then this happened.” he replied, flexing his fingers.

 

“Wait, you called Keith's Bayard?” The Green Paladin inquired, slightly shocked by the news.

 

“Well until I figure out if this can be undone, I guess he's going to have to share.” Shiro joked with a playful shrug.

 

“What happened to that thing-?” Zethrid demanded, bringing the conversation back.

 

“Drifting out in space.” he approached her carefully and slowly, but once he was next to her, he did what he does best; he placed a hand on her shoulder to provide comfort; “I'm sorry, Zethrid.”

 

It was clear to everyone who looked on that the former Galra general was fighting the urge to storm away and vow revenge, but she stood there with her fists clenched to her side. Things had changed since she and her crew helped the Atlas, since she had joined the Blades; even if it was a faux version of Ezor that had been at her side, she couldn't go and undo all the good she had done; to help mend a tattered universe that had been so cruel to her and her sisters. “See that whoever did this pays.” she said, moving out of Shiro's touch and walked out of the hangar.

 

“Shiro?” Krolia questioned.

 

“It was exactly what you think it was.” he said, turning to face the Paladins; “It fit with the location of the second clone.”

 

“So...” Pidge pondered, “One clone under the disguise of Curtis was on Earth and was close to you and with him close by your memories were more or less sealed off.”

 

Hunk nods, following along; “And Ezor was near Keith when he left for the Blades, which could have prevented his memories from returning.”

 

“Okay...” Lance interjected; “But Keith remembered everything a year later and Shiro started to get flashes of memories within about that time or just a little after, so how does that work?”

 

A moment of silence fell between them, but only for a brief minute as the Green Paladin's eyes went wide in delight, smacking her fist into her palm; “Because it's Shiro and Keith!”

 

“And?” Lance stretched the word out, gesturing with his hand for her to go on.

 

“What I mean is they are a constant. To be considered soulmates you have to be insanely connected. Keith found Shiro in Black; a feat not even Allura, could have done. Once Keith began to heal, he in some way has been healing Shiro too.”

 

“He's been doing it even now...” Shiro stated; “I can feel him, hear him; especially if I am close to his body-” he paused suddenly, thinking of the last words he spoke; “His body...” he whispered, then just as quickly as the epiphany hit him did he turn on his bare heels and dash out the hangar doors.

 

“Shiro!” Hunk yelled.

 

“Hey man, wait up! What about his body?!” Lance called after him.

 

They were fast in following their Captain down the halls of the Atlas, only mere strides behind him as they made their way into his office. Once inside he went to his computer and booted up Honerva's files on the clones and how the entities of the rift connected to them.

 

“Naxzela?” Allura repeated, her crystal blue eyes could only stare at him in surprised horror.

 

“Nothing was breaking through that shield and quite a few rebel forces had already been taken out. I couldn't just do nothing or let those who lost their lives have it be for nothing. It was the only thing I could think of in that moment...”

 

“No one said anything... Matt, Coran.... They knew, didn't they?”

 

Another swallow; “Yes, but I asked them to say nothing.”

 

“Keith-”

 

“Matt lectured me about it when we were alone. I told him it was a moot point since I didn't go through with it, even if it was only because Lotor showed up.”

 

“Keith, if you had gone through with it, we would have been devastated and-”

 

“Lost.” he interjected, completing the thought for her; “I know that feeling all too well. Matt brought up how you all would have felt and at the time I honestly shrugged it off. Yes, I was scared, but all I could think about in that moment was what that action could have done for everyone. It was one step closer to your goal of ending the war, one step closer to getting Lance, Hunk and Pidge home, one step closer to making sure Shiro was safe and never having something or someone hurt him like that again. I didn't think of how you'd feel if I was gone, gone and I reiterated that it didn't matter because I didn't do it, but he pushed, wanting a better answer...” he sighed, removing the arm he had around the Princess to mimic the position she sat in; his knees to his chest with his arms resting atop of them. “He asked me how I thought Shiro would have felt... I said he'd be okay because he had you all.” He turned his head so he was looking into her eyes; “He slapped me upside the head immediately after I said that, asking how long I had mourned Shiro when he didn't return to Earth or even when I went searching for him and came up empty handed. And that's exactly what I needed to hear.” He broke the eye contact to look back out to the infinite amount of of stars; “I was lost without him... He gave my life meaning or that's how it felt at least. After I lost my dad, I had nothing and then he showed up and became what I had thought was gone forever; he was my home, my family... And I knew I meant something to him too, but...” He paused, blushing slightly. He wasn't used to being this open with anyone, but Shiro. He took a breath; “My feelings for him changed and sacrificing myself had a different feeling.”

 

Allura continued to look at him, but the expression of confusion was well on her face; “What do you mean?”

 

“When I went after him; discovering he was a clone.” Another sigh escaped him as he curled up a little tighter on himself. “As I said; giving up your own life is not something that should ever be taken lightly. I fought so hard to save him, but in the end, I was left with a choice; I give up on the person who is everything to me to save myself or I fall with him.”

 

Her eyes went wide; “Keith-”

 

“I fell with him. I knew what I was giving up and the consequences that came with that. New Paladins could be found, but there was only one of him and I didn't want to live in a universe that didn't have him in it.” He paused, waiting for a reaction since he had cut her off, but when he didn't get one he continued on; “It was selfish and hypocritical,” he admitted, “But in that fall, all I could think about was him; his smile, his kindness and his promise. And that's when I realized I made a promise to him too; I was no longer lost as long as he was with me.”

 

“It was no longer a sacrifice.”

 

“Because I chose to live.” he returned his gaze to the Princess, “The next thing I knew, I was waking up inside the Black Lion after seeing Shiro in the void.” he smiled softly; “I knew after speaking with him that he was the one who saved us, that's not to say Black had nothing to do with it, but I know in my heart it was Shiro who saved us, saved ME, from that fall. He has always been the one constant thing in my life and I would never give that up.”

 

“Shiro, what are you looking for?” Pidge inquired, peering around the older man as he skimmed through the documents.

 

“This.” he replied a few minutes later, pointing to a specific section of the research.

 

The Green Paladin adjusted her glasses, reading the file through as she did so; “Upon analyzing this being, it appears to be a 'spark'. Quintessence is life itself, this entity is the result of said energy folded in unto itself. It moves, but has no face or limbs, but it LIVES. Its movements suggest a desire to break free of its current confinement, thus I can conclude it can also feel like any other living creature. What if it is like a parasite? Not being able to evolve into anything more than this? Yes, that is what they are; what people consider souls. To believe those tales that we are mere flesh and bone and that our own inner Quintessence or soul is what makes us who are than that is what they desire.” She stopped her reading, pondering the information.

 

“So, those things are just wondering souls?” Hunk asked.

 

Shiro gave a nod as he started to load more files, pointing to a direct spot that talked about the clones; reiterating the fact that they were to be used as an army or battery. “Do you get it?” Shiro asks his friends. He inhaled deeply when he saw them shake their heads. “Honerva manipulated them, just as It was able to manipulate others; as the reports said, it had its own thoughts and feelings. It is no different than any of us in this very room.” He stood from his hunched position, standing tall and sure as he addressed his team; “The Trial of Marmora revealed to me how I fell for the manipulation; I was afraid.” He admitted; “I was just as close with Adam as I am with Keith in terms of friendship before we got together and it didn't end well. I couldn't bare the thought of not having him in my life... This creature was able to use my fear.”

 

“It gave you an 'out'.” Lance commented, beginning to see where Shiro might be going.

 

Shiro nodded again; “You can't get rid of feelings that way, but the promise of something to cover it up or replace it so you can keep what you have without hurt is appealing to the fear.”

 

“And any emotion can be manipulated.” Pidge chimed in.

 

“Exactly and when you are being prayed on at your most vulnerable, it's easy to want to make a deal.”

 

“Did you not think Shiro saw you the same way? As family?” Allura questioned, her thoughts lingering on a piece of Keith's story.

 

He shook his head; “Not exactly... Honestly, I was afraid that he would get sick of me and just toss me aside like everyone else did, so I never really voiced it until later, only 'brother' meant so much more to me... I didn't want to be left alone again.”

 

“That's how I felt. I can't begin to rationalize why I feared that after everything was over, that I would have no one. Coran has been like a second father to me since I can remember and there should have been no doubt in my mind that he would be with me. And then there's Lance, who on our first date said he loved me and I somehow started to doubt how long it would last; questioning feelings because of Lotor. But Lance and his entire family welcomed me with open arms. How could I have questioned their intentions?” She returned to resting her forehead on her arms; “Then there's you and the rest of the Paladins. You all became my family and I have no reason to believe that we would not speak or see each other after the war, yet I feared it to be true.”

 

“Sometimes we just have to face our fears and have hope that the ones who know us and love us, can support us in our time of need.”

 

She heaved a heavy sigh, her heart weighing down with it; “I think my faith was shaken when the colonists sided with Honerva. My own people had no faith in me...”

 

“And my people had inflicted so much pain for ten thousand years.”

 

Allura's head shot straight up at those words, quickly whipping it to the side to look at the leader of Voltron.

 

“Your reaction to when you found out that I was Galra was no different than the colonists finding out you were working with them or the fact that you were among those who had taken out Lotor. When you're taught to fear or hate something, it will only breed more fear and hate because no one said something could be different.” Keith glanced over at her out of the corner of his eye; seeing her shoulders slump out of guilt. “But even with new facts, the new truths can also breed new fear.” he said, looking back to the void; “Do you know what my worst fear was?”

 

She shook her head; “No...”

 

“Losing Shiro. Even though I had all the facts; I KNEW him. I was still afraid that he would walk away from me if I said or did the wrong thing. Then finding out what I was, that fear came rushing to the front of my mind. I thought he would walk away, not being able to look at me or outright fear me because of what they did to him.” he paused for a brief moment, knowing his next words might sting a little; “Your reaction to me stung and it only had me believing in that fear; that I was capable of being like the Galra we were fighting against.”

 

“I'm sorry about that...”

 

“I know you are and I also know you don't view all Galra that way anymore. You used your knowledge of me to change that fear or hatred you felt towards that part of me, just as my knowledge of Shiro out weighed my fear when he came into my room one night in the castle and just held me, telling me that I was 'still Keith' and that nothing was going to change that in his eyes. You can't change people's minds over night and you can't force the change if you want it to be genuine.”

 

Shiro had called for a meeting with Coran, Iverson, Matt and Sam, along with the Paladins and both Krolia and Kolivan on video calls. The Admiral gave the rundown on the Rift creatures.

 

“So you think these things are being controlled by the promise or deal?” Matt asked.

 

“Yes. We know Honerva had used two clones to either manipulate or just use them as a way to keep an eye on Keith and myself.”

 

Pidge gave a nod; “After reading the files here, we can conclude that these entities are basically parasitic souls.”

 

“And every soul needs a body.” Shiro said; “Honerva manipulated these creatures with the promise of a body and a life to live.”

 

“But in order to maintain their strength, they needed to feed of Quintessence.” Pidge said, chiming back in; “Hence the taking the form of another; it fed off their need for sustenance as well as give them a life they desired. At least for the ones we thought were Ezor and Curtis.”

 

Shiro nodded in return; “They get their wish up front where as others, like the one in Luka or even the Princess, needed to pay first and do her bidding.” He paused looking at the screen that held Krolia's image; “When I was attacked, the clone had said something that was telling; they said they were taking Keith to the Celevieon system.”

 

Krolia let out a small gasp; her eyes going wide as she made a brief glace toward her slumbering son. Shiro's request from before now making sense that he wanted someone at his side.

 

“As Shiro said; 'every soul needs a body' and we think Honerva wants to take Keith's for her own.” The Green Paladin concluded.

 

“Which brings me to our current course of action.” Shiro stated after the initial shock had worn off; “We're going to have to bring the fight to her; in whichever way that means remains to be seen, however, it doesn't change the fact that the Atlas will have to remove itself from the evacuation efforts.” He turned to Iverson; “I want you and a portion of the crew to stay behind and lend a hand still; in exchange I will be taking Matt and some of his forces from the coalition.” he then faced Kolivan; “Though I do have some of the Blades with me, I am hoping you'll be able to spare another unit when the time comes.”

 

Kolivan gave a nod; “The Blade of Marmora stand with you. We will wormhole to the location on your mark, until then I shall return to the evacuation. Good luck, Admiral.” With a nod in return from Shiro, the leader of the Blades turned off his screen.

 

Matt stood from his seat; “I'll start putting a team together, just say the word and we'll be there.”

 

“Thank you.” And lastly the Atlas Captain faced Coran; “Run through a quick checklist with Veronica and Sam. Once that is done set our course”

 

“And where is that exactly?” The Altean questioned.

 

“Oriande.”

 

Coran as well as the Paladins gave him a questioning look, knowing the fate of the sacred place from the war.

 

“ _You figured it out.”_ Atlas snickered, a little proud of her Captain.

 

A smirk pulled at the sides of Shiro's lips as he said; “Every soul needs a body.”

 

***

 

The Atlas was now on a steady course to the ancient grounds of Altean Alchemy; Shiro had given the order to his crew and the Paladins to be on alert, but to rest for what was to come. They of course agreed, but on the condition that the Admiral did so as well. Judging by the day/night cycle of the Atlas it was around four in the morning and though his body felt the need to return to slumber, Shiro felt it impossible to do so. Instead he roamed the halls of the ship, making his way to the observation deck.

 

The doors slide open and to his surprise he wasn't alone; sitting on the windowsill, gazing out to the stars, was the female Blade who had assisted in his trial. Her violet gaze met his silver one when the door closed behind him; “Oh, I'm sorry, I thought no one would in here. I'll leave you-” Shiro began to say, turning around to leave, but was stopped when he heard her voice.

 

“Wait.” She said, watching his body language and upon careful inspection, she could see him tense up. “You remember me, don't you?”

 

The white-haired man took in a deep breath, then turned to face her; “You were the girl from the arena...” he whispered, his voice cracking.

 

She nodded, smiling at him; “And I'm alive thanks to you.”

 

“I don't see how; I may not have struck you, but I couldn't stop them from taking you away... I couldn't stop what was being said; from the crowd or soldiers. I-”

 

“Cared.” She interrupted; “I may have been too exhausted to move or open my eyes, but I felt you hug me and say you were sorry. No one's ever shown me that sort of kindness before; being a half breed I wasn't even deemed worthy enough to breathe.”

 

Shiro winced, having recalled Sendak saying as such. He swallowed; “What happened to you after the match?” he managed to ask. In all honesty, he wasn't sure he could handle whatever her answer was, but not seeing her until now left him curious.

 

“From what I remember that Galra saying; I was supposed to be placed within a inhospitable environment and survive on some random planet, but that never came to pass.”

 

Shiro released the breath he hadn't realized he was holding.

 

“That Galra; the one who threw me into the pit, the one who beat me senseless to 'toughen me up and be worthy of Galra blood', the one who called me worthless, useless, broken...” he watched as she clenched her hand into a fist; “was the one who sired me. And he was basically sending me to die or rather passed me off to someone else so he could just wash his hands of me.” She sighed slightly, but Shiro could see the smile on her lips and her fist un-clench; “When I came to I was in a pod with Ulaz; who was contacting Kolivan and arranging a rendezvous with him and a few other Blades to pick me up.”

 

Another relieving sigh escaped Shiro, grateful to the Blade of Marmora for saving her, but another thought had crossed his mind as he looked at the Blade's uniform she had donned.

 

“I know what you're thinking and I could say pretty much the same thing about you.”

 

“But I wasn't a child.” he said, sadly.

 

“Maybe not, but age means nothing in war. However, like your Paladins, the Blades became my family. Not only did they give me a home, the gave me a name and a purpose.” She stood from where she say to approach the now stunned Admiral; his eyes now glued to the small, but noticeable swell of her stomach. “They accepted me, but you accepted me first. Everything I have in my life wouldn't have been possible if it wasn't for you.” She smiled, placing a hand to her belly.

 

Shiro wasn't quite sure what to say, but his brain seemed to be focusing on one thing; “Kolivan sent you to fight Zarkon's former Champion while...” he trailed off, gesturing towards her stomach with his hand; “Did he-”

 

“Knowledge or death.” She smirked, but decided to give him a more direct answer when she saw his expression deadpan; “Kolivan is well aware I am carrying Vhydix's kits, but when this plan was coming to fruition, I demanded to be the one to face you. You helped me, so I wanted to return that favor.”

 

“And Vhydix was the other one who attacked me?”

 

She nodded; “I honestly wasn't expecting him to sucker punch you, it's not really his style, but then again, being my mate; I should have known he would do everything to protect us.” She reached out to take his hands in hers; “I'm glad I was able to see you again, Admiral.” She smiled sweetly; “And thank you for everything you've done for me.”

 

“Shiro” he corrected, a kind smile playing on his gentle features.

 

“Decxovra.” She said in return; “But please, call me Dec.”

 

“Decxovra... that's a beautiful name.”

 

“Thank you, it means 'Treasured Starlight' in the Dracomarian tongue; they were my mother's people and it is the name Antok gave me.”

 

“It suits you.”

 

She smiled again, a hint of a bashful blush crept into her cheeks as she whispered her thanks; “I should go rest some before Vhydix has a conniption.”

 

Shiro laughed at that, giving an understanding nod, “Please do. Rest well.”

 

“Thanks.” She moved passed him and stood in the door way once it was open, looking back at him; “Shiro.”

 

“Yes?”

 

“Romantic love for a Galra is quite rare; most just pair off for sex out of a primal urge or for procreation, but if we fall in love, that's it for us; our mates become our everything in a bond that can never be broken. Please take care of our commander when he awakens.” With that she exited the deck, leaving the Atlas Captain alone.

 

Shiro walked over to the window where Decxovra had been, gazing out to the shimmering lights among the galaxy; “You don't have to worry, I love him more than anything. Even the stars themselves...”

 

***

 

The Atlas began its decent onto the disintegrating Oriande; the Guardian no where in sight. Shiro gave the order for the Paladins to suit up and meet in the hangar to take the White Lion in. Shiro was the last to arrive, but their eyes shone in delight as they watched him march forward in the Black Paladin armor.

 

It was a quick flight down to the surface and once they landed they could feel the once steady earth rumble beneath their feet. They briefly took in their surroundings, once again noticing that the large guardian was no where to be seen.

 

Lance stopped in his tracks, feeling a tingling sensation on his face. He raised his hand to the markings as they began to glow. Shiro stopped as well, his arm pulsating with the string blue and purple light.

 

“Something's calling us.” The Blue Paladin said, his voice low.

 

Shiro nodded; “Let's keep moving.”

 

They continued onward, moving forward into the ruins. The statues that once stood tall now bent on one knee; a sign of respect for those walking passed. They ascended the staircase ahead of them, bringing them to a room that was painted of the stars; the walls and ceiling cascaded in a sea of blues, emulating a sky at twilight. The tile beneath them was illustrated by a large sun in the center with a constellation of a lion above it along with four other lions in the corners and standing before them was the Guardian of Oriande; the White Lion.

 

“Welcome, Paladins of Voltron, we have been expecting you.” It said, echoing in their heads; its voice deep.

 

Hunk gulped at the sight; “Uh, we?”

 

The constellations on the floor lit; a beam connecting to each star in the familiar paladin colors. The colors then began to take shape of each of their lions, lining up in formation with Black standing in front of the White Lion and before Shiro. The four of them felt a sense of comfort as they all could hear the purrs of their companions.

 

“Did you hear that?” Keith questioned.

 

“The purr?” Allura looked up to Blue only to see the shadows begin to take over; the eyes vacant with dark wisps leaking out of the sides. It roared, opening its maw. “Blue? Blue what are you doing?!”

 

“Princess!” Keith shouted, grabbing her by the wrist, pulling them to their feet in an attempt to run.

 

Suddenly there was a flash of white with an even louder roar. On reflex of the flash, the two had closed their eyes only to find their friends standing in front of them once they were reopened.

 

“Allura!!” Pidge exclaimed, bounding over with Hunk and Lance close in tow; embracing her once the Red Paladin let go.

 

Keith looked to Shiro, the two of them locking eyes; giving each other a soft and sweet smile; “You found me...” Keith said a moment later.

 

“I said I'd never give up on you and I meant it. As many times as it takes, right?”

 

“Right.” He turned his focus to the six lions as Shiro moved to stand next to him, the others now following his gaze as well.

 

Six sets of eyes went wide as they heard a soft, yet strong, feminine voice speak. The Black Lion's eyes were glowing a radiant gold as she spoke; “Paladins, I'm afraid time is of the essence and this is our last chance to set the course right for this reality. Honerva was meant to be defeated, not forgiven. Your lives were meant to flourish, not be sacrificed.”

 

Shiro's eyes narrowed down on her; “You were the one causing the time loops.”

 

A deep roar erupted from her as faint images began to play among the stars and voices echoed from the depths of the sky.

 

“In the beginning, your journey was not as you know it. The fated Kerberos mission was left without one of its crew, as Shiro stayed on Earth...” Black stated as the scene zoomed into a Garrison simulation room.

 

_Shiro stood at the head of the group of cadets, in between two simulation pods; “Good morning, Cadets.” he paused, hearing his greeting returned and seeing simple or enthusiastic waves. He smiled; “I bet you are all wondering why the Fighter Class and Cargo pilots are both here today, as well some of our Engineering students; well, we have arranged an interesting challenge for you.” he placed his hand on the back of one of the pods; “Today we are going to flip your lessons; Fighters you will be flying the Cargo sim and Cargo will be flying Fighter's.”_

 

_There was an outburst of both joy and outrage._

 

“ _Engineers, you will have your chance to fly as well, but for this class; you will be taking notes on all damages that are taken on both sides and giving reports on possible fixes with either things on hand or the best course taken.”_

 

_A younger Hunk sighed in relief for not having to be in the simulation right away._

 

“ _We have placed the names of each cadet in one of these bowls.” Shiro continued, walking over to the desk that was in the corner, “One Cargo and One Fighter, if I call your name, please move up to the simulation pod. Cargo on the left and Fighters on the right. Any questions?”_

 

“ _Yeah, why do we have to do boring Cargo runs?” one student asked, rudely._

 

_Keith side-eyed him, a smirk playing on his face. Had this been his first year at the Garrison he would have thought the same thing, but he was a little older now and thanks to his best friend, a little wiser._

 

“ _I think you just answered your own question.” Shiro replied albeit a little smug. He leaned against the desk, looking around the room to see if any hands were raised, but his silver gaze stopped when he saw someone leaning against the door frame. The man with brown hair and hazel eyes gave a sly wave of the hand as he adjusted his glasses. Shiro gave a small nod and smile as acknowledgment before turning back to his class; “All right then, for Cargo side we have” he reached into the bowl, pulling out a strip of paper; “Melissa.” he watched a girl with short black hair and green eyes step in front of the left pod. “And for Fighter” he pulled a slip from the next bowl; “James.” A younger James Griffin stood up straight as his name was called, giving his teacher a salute and took his place in front of the right pod._

 

“ _Alright, now” Shiro moved back to where he was standing in before the students; “your course is identical, but you will have different obstacles to overcome. You both will have three chances to make it to your destination and there is only ONE checkpoint along the way, so be sure to grab it; otherwise you will have to start from the beginning.” he saw the two of them nod; “Okay, to your stations.”_

 

_Shiro observed the action, making his own notes on his data pad as the rest of his class watched the screens on the wall ahead of them. He fought off a chuckle when the group collectively gasped at one of the large crashes that came on the Cargo pilot's side. On James' side, the ride was slow with some other students questioning if the sim was placed on autopilot, but just like on Cargo's side a large crash occurred, which left James gasping in confusion; he was just about to touch the checkpoint..._

 

_After about ten minutes, James managed to barely clear with Melissa finishing just after him on her last attempt. Shiro congratulated them on clearing and moved back to the desk to draw two more names; this was the pace for the tempo of the class with varying outcomes on both sides. At roughly twenty minutes left for the class Shiro stood with a smile, his hands behind his back, his left hand pressing onto the device on his other wrist; “And it looks like we are down to our last two, take your positions.” he watched as a younger Lance and Keith plopped down inside the pods._

 

“ _Prepare to get wrecked, Mullet.” Lance muttered, gripping the controls tight._

 

_Keith paid him no mind and rested his hands on the controls._

 

_The simulation started and right out of the gate the class witnessed Lance's health plummet to nothing. The class both gasped and laughed at the sight while the teen inside the pod fumed. He took a couple breaths and started again, this time getting a little farther, but not even half way when his health went to zero again. He groaned, slumping in his seat, his heart sinking as he heard his classmates either laughing at his expense or them in absolute awe of his 'rival'._

 

_Shiro watched as Keith was nearly to the end, with just minor damage to the craft and cargo. He smiled at that before turning his attention to Lance who had yet to begin his final attempt. He leaned into the pod, his smile faded upon seeing the lanky teen sinking into the chair._

 

“ _I can't do this...” Lance muttered, not meeting the gaze of his hero. “No matter how hard I try, I can't fly like you can... or like HIM.” he tossed a nod to his right to indicate who he was referring to._

 

“ _You're right, you can't.”_

 

_Those words stung as Lance's ocean like eyes widened in surprise, but before he could say anything, Shiro had added;_

 

“ _But you aren't me and you aren't Keith either. We all learn the basics, but it's how we mold them to our own skill sets, our own way of thinking, that's important. That's what this class is about; just because you are of Cargo class, doesn't make you any less valid than a Fighter class and Fighters sometimes need to learn that it's not all fast pace action; sometimes it's about protection of precious cargo. Everyone just needs a little patience.”_

 

“ _Patience...” he whispered in echo._

 

_He nodded and winced suddenly, gripping his right wrist, but fought off the pain. Thankfully his motion went unnoticed by Lance. “That's right, so...” he took a few deep breaths, something now feeling not quite right; “what do you think went-” he gasped in pain, backing out of the pod and leaned against its side. His left hand moved from his right arm to his chest._

 

“ _Shiro?” Lance asked, his voice shaken._

 

“ _I-I'm okay...” he managed, “I just-”_

 

_The class collectively gasped and screamed as they watched their teacher slide down the side of the pod, sweat dripping down his face._

 

“ _Shiro!” Keith yelled, abandoning his nearly perfect run, jumping from the pod over to his side._

 

_At the same time the man from the back of the room by the door ran forward; “Takashi!” He pushed his way through the small sea of students, kneeling next to Shiro once he was up front; “Hey, you okay? What's wrong?”_

 

“ _I'm fine, Adam, just-” he winced; “a little tight...”_

 

_Adam gently placed a hand on Shiro's shoulder; “I'm calling for help.” he looked to Keith; “Watch him for me.” he stated before standing and dashing to the hall with his phone. Though he couldn't drown out the gasps and somewhat terrified sounds the students were making, he needed to make sure he was clear in what needed to happen in his orders to the medics._

 

_Shiro glanced over to Keith who was somewhat in the way of his vision of the class. His friend was clearly looking him over when he grabbed a hold of Shiro's right wrist. His violet eyes narrowed when he saw the device equipped to him wasn't blinking as it normally would have been. Keith turned to glance out at the other students, his eyes landing on Hunk; “Hey, can you look at this for me?”_

 

_Hunk looked around the room then pointed to himself; “Me?” he saw Keith nod. He took a deep breath before approaching. Once he was behind Keith he could see the bracelet on Shiro's wrist, recognizing it. “Oh... a stimulant bracelet.”_

 

“ _Yeah, it's supposed to beep and flash, but it's not doing anything.” Keith explained, though probably needlessly. He moved to the other side of his friend so the young engineer could get a closer look._

 

“ _Hey, Lance, in my bag I have a mini tool kit. Can you bring it to me?” Hunk asked._

 

“ _Yeah... yeah.” He looked down to Shiro who looked like he was fighting off the pain as to not worry everyone in the room; “Hang in there, Shiro.” he said as he quickly jumped over the man's legs and dashed to the side of the room where he and Hunk had set down their belongings. And just as quickly he was back at their side, kneeling next to Hunk._

 

_Hunk took the kit, rummaging through to find the smallest of screwdrivers, or at least that's what the tool looked like, before he looked at Shiro; “Can I take this off?”_

 

_Shiro managed a small shrug with his left shoulder; “Not like it's doing its job anyway.”_

 

_Hunk managed a weak laugh before removing the device. He had it open in no time, examining it at each angle before an “Oh...” escaped his lips. He set down, right to work, taking out a few other tools to poke and prod as well as reattach some wires. Within minutes he had it back together and back on its owner's wrist. “That should do it.” he said, pressing a button._

 

_And just like that, the electro stimulant began to pulse through his body, easing the tension slightly as one of the Garrison medics and Adam came running back in, shooing the class to the sides of the room. They got Shiro onto a stretcher as he said; “Thank you.” to the three boys next to him before being wheeled out._

 

“ _Thanks.” Keith said, looking to Hunk._

 

“ _Hey, I'm just glad it worked and really thankful for that class.” he said, breathing a sigh of relief; “It really does pay to know at least a little bit of every piece of tech in your surroundings.”_

 

The scene in the sky then shifted to later that in the cafeteria within the Garrison grounds.

 

_Keith had grabbed a few to-go containers and had them placed in a plastic bag when Lance and Hunk approached him._

 

“ _Hey, have you heard anything about Shiro?” Lance asked, his voice and eyes full of concern._

 

_Keith looked around to make sure no one was listening then nodded for them to follow him out into the hall. When the coast was clear he gave a sigh; “He's fine, the bracelet just malfunctioned, which we already knew. Doctor said he should be back on his feet in twenty-four hours.”_

 

_Relief was quick to rush through Lance's body as he slumped forward slightly; “Oh, thank god.”_

 

“ _You think it would be okay to see him?” Hunk questioned._

 

_Keith shook his head; “Adam kind of has him under lock and key at the moment.” There was a hint of irritation in his voice._

 

“ _But YOU get to see him.” Lance pointed out._

 

_Keith could only shrug; “He texted me, asking for food. I'm just doing as he requested.”_

 

“ _Oh, okay.” Hunk said, smiling; “At least tell him we're glad he's alright.”_

 

_Keith gave a nod and moved passed them, making his way towards the apartments._

 

“ _Come on, Hunk.” Lance said, moving away from the cafeteria._

 

“ _Where are we going?”_

 

“ _Back to the sim room, I have some stuff to work on...” he put his hands in his pockets and began to wander down the other direction of the hall._

 

_The smile on Hunk's face never left as he understood; “Right behind you, buddy.”_

 

The scene transitioned again, zooming into the halls of the apartment complex, closing in on one of the doors.

 

_Keith entered to the sound of the couple arguing._

 

“ _It wasn't a heart attack, Adam. Stop being so dramatic!”_

 

“ _It may not have been one, but it could have been, Takashi! This is exactly why I am glad you listened for once and didn't go to Kerberos.”_

 

“ _Ugh, would you stop it with that?! You won, I'm here, not up there!”_

 

“ _I would if you would learn your lesson already! You have to stop pushing yourself.”_

 

“ _How am I pushing myself? I have done everything I normally do to keep my condition at its BEST. This was just a malfunction-”_

 

“ _A malfunction that could have killed you!” Adam sighed; “I'm going shopping to get some healthier things for you to eat. Please follow the doctor's orders and rest. I've already taken your keys in case an impulse should arrive.”_

 

_Upon overhearing that, Keith looked to where Adam's satchel was hanging on the hook by the door. He kicked off his boots before going over to it and grabbing the set of keys; only being recognized clearly as Shiro's in Keith's eyes by the black cat keychain that he had won at a carnival they went to, and pocketed them. He hid the plastic bag of food then after under the couch when he heard a softer “I love you, Takashi.” fill the air as Adam left their bedroom._

 

_Adam gave a weak smile to the younger man; “Thanks for coming, Keith, I really need someone else who cares about him to watch over him while I'm out.”_

 

“ _Y-yeah, don't sweat it...” he stuttered back, adverting his gaze._

 

“ _I shouldn't be out too long, but call me immediately if something happens.”_

 

_Keith nodded and watched the older man leave. Once the door was shut he grabbed the goods from under the sofa and moseyed down the hall. The bedroom door whooshed open, revealing Shiro; lying in bed, shirtless with his arms folded and a pout upon his lips._

 

“ _You have every right to be pissed, Shiro.” Keith said, reaching into his pocket; “And Adam should really keep his voice down, especially to someone who just had a heart attack.” he added, sarcastically, as he tossed the keys to his friend._

 

_Shiro smiled when he heard Keith's voice and with quick reflexes, caught his keys; “Thanks Keith. Did you bring something good for lunch?”_

 

_Keith smirked as he lifted the bag, making his way over to sit on the edge of the bed. He pulled out the container of mac and cheese with a spork to hand to him. “How's the grip?”_

 

_Shiro flexed his fingers; “Much better, a lot looser than it was back there.” he nodded towards the door, leading to the hall; “There's some trays in the hall closet if you want to grab one though.”_

 

_Keith gave a nod, setting the container on the nightstand then dashed to retrieve it. When he came back, he unfolded the legs to set it in Shiro's lap; “I feel like I should have a vase with a rose in it or something...”_

 

_Shiro chuckled; “Would be nice, haven't been pampered like that in a long time.”_

 

_Keith blushed, turning quickly to grab the food, but slowed his movements to quell the redness; “Y-you actually did that stuff?”_

 

“ _Yeah, when we first moved in together.”_

 

“ _A-and you liked it?” he felt his blush deepen._

 

_Another chuckle escaped the lieutenant; “I did, still do. It's nice being taken care of like that, knowing someone loves you just by doing something nice without reason. Unlike this....”_

 

“ _Unlike what?” he asked, feeling a little more in control now to place the food on the tray._

 

“ _Like a child who has to be told no or when to go to bed or what to eat.”_

 

“ _It's gotten that bad?” Keith asked, retaking his seat and unpacking his sandwich and a couple of sodas._

 

_Shiro poked at his mac and cheese; “I hate to say it, but... yeah.”_

 

“And it was that bad...” Black said, sadly, knowing how much Shiro had loved another before. “It wasn't even a full movement before everything seemed to come crashing down...” The scene stayed in the apartment, but they were now watching Shiro and Adam in a heated argument.

 

“ _You can't control every little thing, Adam.”_

 

“ _I wouldn't have to if you'd just listen!”_

 

“ _Ugh, I'm not going to go through this again!”_

 

“ _Takashi, how important am I to you?!”_

 

_That caught Shiro by surprise as he watched Adam ball his hands into fists, fighting off tears of anger and frustration._

 

“ _I love you, but I won't sit here and watch you die!”_

 

_Shiro looked away, trying to remain calm; “But you aren't watching me live either...”_

 

_Adam's eyes grew wide as those words reached his ears. He felt a gentle hand on his shoulder then just as quickly it was gone as Shiro moved to the door._

 

_The young lieutenant stood in the door way after it opened, his silver gaze sad as he looked over his shoulder; “Thank you for caring, Adam...” he said, his voice cracking with sorrow; “But breathing isn't the same as living...” tears began to slowly make their decent down his cheeks; “And I have to make the most of the time I have left...”_

 

“ _Takashi...”_

 

“ _I'm sorry, I can't give you the life you want... or be the husband you'd been dreaming of...” he blinked away some of the tears only for a more steady stream of them to flow; “You deserve better than me... Goodbye, Adam.” with that he walked out, the door shutting behind him._

 

Even though most of the group knew about Shiro and Keith being soulmates, it didn't make the sight any less heartbreaking to them as they witnessed the breakup. Keith had moved a little closer to Shiro's side, placing a hand to his back, seeing the man he loved trying to keep it together; the pain was no less real. Allura had brought her hands to her chest with Lance moving closer to her side. They looked on as the scene shifted to a cliff overlooking the desert as the sun began to dip down into the horizon.

 

_Shiro sat near the edge, his knees to his chest with his arms on top and his forehead pressed against them. His shoulders shuddered and his breaths hitched, but he had long run out of tears to shed. When the sound of a humming engine echoed off the canyons behind him, he paid no mind to it; he knew who it was._

 

_The hover bike settled to the side by Shiro's own as the raven haired teen hopped off and removed his goggles. Without a word, Keith sat beside his friend looking out to the sunset. The silence lingered as twilight settled in, Shiro leaned over with another hiccup in his breath as he rested his head on Keith's shoulder and just as quietly Keith returned the motion, resting his head against Shiro's._

 

“And just like that, time moved forward; Keith had given you permission to live in the shack in the desert and day by day, the hurt you felt lessened. Though the Garrison did not let you fly, your lessons flourished and you became closer to other cadets.” Black explained; the scene before them shifting to show Shiro moving some of his belongings into the shack, then shifting again to show him talking one on one with students; including Lance who had received a high-five from the older man for passing some more advanced flying techniques. “And then five phoebs after the launch, news of its failure had begun to spread...”

 

“ _Shiro!!! Shiro, open up!!!” A young voice called from the other side of the shack's door._

 

_Within the last five months Shiro and Keith had made some renovations to the place, replacing some of the old wood; like the door and banister as well as adding some new appliances. The term shack didn't seem to fit the property anymore and he was glad for it as he approached the excessive pounding on the door. Once it was open his eyebrows raised as he stared at Katie Holt. “Katie, how did you-” he began to question only to have her push passed him in a huff._

 

_A minute later he heard a raspy; “I brought her.” coming toward him._

 

“ _What's going on?”_

 

“ _You haven't heard?” Keith asked._

 

_Shiro shook his head; “Clearly not.”_

 

“ _You might want to sit down...” Keith said, gesturing to the couch. Once they were seated. Keith placed a hand on Shiro's knee, squeezing._

 

“ _It's that bad?” Shiro asked, reading Keith's gesture like an open book._

 

“ _The Kerberos crew went missing...” he said, trying to keep his voice steady; “The Garrison is declaring it a failure due to a pilot error.”_

 

_Shiro's eyes blew wide, his sliver gaze turning towards the younger Holt sibling; “Katie, I'm-”_

 

“ _Their lying!” she interrupted._

 

“ _Katie, I understand how you're feeling, but-”_

 

“ _No!” She put her foot down; “Whatever happened to them, they're covering it up.”_

 

_Shiro took a breath before standing up from the couch and moving over to sit on the arm of the chair where Katie was seated; “How do you know?”_

 

_The question took her by surprise, as she was quick to whip around to face him, but she was also fast with an answer; “Because, you know my dad. Every detail of this mission was precise; the only thing that was less than perfect was that you were removed as the pilot.”_

 

“ _I am by no means perfect, Katie...”_

 

“ _But you did help select a new pilot with my dad and Matt. They thought of you as family, we all did and trusted your judgment-”_

 

“ _Hey!” Keith yelled; “I didn't bring you here so you could blame him.”_

 

“ _And I'm not. What I'm saying is they trusted in his choice and that he would have done exactly as Shiro would have, so if anything within the mission plan was askew; my dad would change course and his crew would follow. And from what Matt was telling me, everything was fine; aside from your rep being a boring plank of wood.”_

 

“ _Wait, when did you talk to Matt? There wasn't supposed to be any contact until they were en route back to Earth.” Shiro asked._

 

_She smirked; “Ever hear of quantum frequency?”_

 

_Shiro thought for a moment, but then shook his head._

 

“ _Well it's a code with a two step encryption-” she stopped herself, shaking her head; “I'll explain that later, but the last message I got from Matt was they were just hitting Kerberos and that everything was going fine. But when Mom went to talk to Admiral Sanda and Commander Iverson I sort of snuck off.”_

 

“ _What did you do?” he questioned._

 

“ _Oh, you're gonna like this.” Keith chimed in, a smirk of his own playing on his features._

 

“ _I snuck into Iverson's office.”_

 

“ _Y-you what?” Shiro stammered._

 

“ _I got access to his computer and they had a feed and everything from the ship when it suddenly goes static. You can hear other voices, saying to take them prisoner.” She dug her nails into the cushion of the chair; “But Iverson caught me and had me thrown out. They're hiding the truth and I know I could have found out more if I had a few more minutes.”_

 

“ _Did you just tell me that aliens exist?” Shiro asked._

 

“ _I think she did.” Keith agreed._

 

“ _Whatever it was, something took my family and I don't care what it takes, I will get them back.”_

 

_Shiro smiled and stood, crossing his arms; “Count me in.”_

 

“Thus you devised a plan; Shiro would create a distraction for Pidge to get the information, only the three of you weren't expecting two others to become involved...” Black said, the scene shifting to the Garrison halls.

 

_Shiro waited around one corner, watching for Iverson to pop out of his office. He was dressed casually in a white t-shirt, a pair of jeans and his bomber jacket as it was his day off. When the doors opened he watched the older man make his way down the hall towards the mess hall. Iverson only made it a wall away from his office before Shiro had caught up with him, but it was enough for Keith and Katie to catch sight of his movements and hear his voice._

 

“ _Ah, Shirogane, I wasn't expecting you on your day off.”_

 

_He shrugged; “I just came by to pick up a lesson plan I left behind, but I wanted to ask you something.”_

 

_Quietly as the conversation started, Katie and Keith snuck into the senior officer's office. Katie pulled her hair back into a ponytail after plopping into the chair then placed a USB stick into the drive. She stretched her fingers together before hunching over and clacked away on the keys. Keith leaned against the wall by the door, listening intently._

 

“ _Is this about the Kerberos mission?” Iverson asked, his voice soft._

 

“ _It is.”_

 

_The older man sighed; “Such a sad fate...”_

 

“ _About that, Sir, what exactly happened?” Leave it to Shiro to try for an honest and direct answer._

 

“ _Just a simple mistake. You knew the dangers of this task, anything could happen.”_

 

“ _And I agree with that, but I also know my crew.”_

 

“ _Shiro, I know this is tough for you-”_

 

“ _Sir, with all due respect,” he interrupted; “even if it was an error, no information is being released. If it was an honest mistake why not give closure-”_

 

“ _What do you mean 'even if'?” Iverson interjected._

 

“ _I just think that if it was an accident than the people should know.”_

 

_Iverson lost the familiarity in his posture, now standing straight with his hands behind his back, looking Shiro right in the eye; “I would suggest you know your place, Lieutenant.”_

 

“ _Shiro...” Keith whispered, his violet eyes now shifting to the girl behind the desk._

 

“ _Almost done.” She said, without looking up._

 

“ _I don't know what you have heard, but the mission failed because of a pilot error. End of discussion, do you understand, Lieutenant?”_

 

“ _Sir,” Shiro said, going to raise his right arm to salute, but winced._

 

“ _Shiro?” Iverson asked, the sternness suddenly leaving him at the sight._

 

“ _That's our cue.” Keith said, moving towards the windows behind the desk._

 

_Katie shot up out of the chair, ejecting her thumb drive; “All set.”_

 

_Keith opened the window for her, watching to make sure she slipped out safely. She gave a thumbs up then gestured a few other motions with her hands to which he gave a thumbs up in return before she stealthily made her way towards their getaway._

 

_Keith peeked around the corners, seeing that the coast was clear he slipped out._

 

“ _Shiro, are you all right?” Iverson asked again as he watched the young lieutenant falter in his balance, sliding down against the wall._

 

“ _Just a minor flare up....” he winced again; “Went a little too hard today I guess.”_

 

“ _Shiro!” Keith yelled, running towards the two men, only stopping to kneel down next to his friend. “Are you okay?”_

 

“ _Nothing serious.” His face said otherwise._

 

“ _Can you stand?” Keith asked. He went to assist Shiro in getting up, only have him slide back down._

 

“ _I'll go get a medic.” Iverson said, about to turn away before Shiro's voice stopped him._

 

“ _I'm all right. I just need rest.”_

 

_Keith looked up at Iverson; “Can you get a wheelchair? I'll take him home.”_

 

_Iverson gave a nod; “Don't move.” he ordered and as fast as he could he made his way to the infirmary._

 

_Just as heavy footsteps disappeared down the corridor did another two sets take its place along with hushed voices._

 

“ _I don't see why we have to sneak out to Plat City now...” Hunk whined._

 

“ _Because I'm in the mood to celebrate. It's not every day that I'll get promoted to the Fighter Class!” Lance exclaimed in whisper._

 

_They tiptoed around each corner, but stopped when their eyes came in contact with their fellow cadet and instructor._

 

“ _Oh no...” Hunk said, breaking off of Lance to quickly approach the soldier on the floor; “Shiro, are you okay? Is it the bracelet again?” he frantically got to his knees, taking Shiro's wrist into his hands._

 

“ _He's fine-” Keith attempted, but then saw the puzzling look on Hunk's face._

 

“ _Hey, what's going on?” Lance asked as he made long strides over, a hint of worry in his voice. After seeing Shiro like this once, it was hard to forget or even ignore._

 

“ _The stimulant seems to be in working order.” Hunk commented as he let go of Shiro's wrist and stood up; “So why-?”_

 

“ _I said, he's fine.” Keith stated again just as footsteps came down the hall._

 

_Shiro looked to the other two cadets; “I promise, I'm okay.”_

 

_Iverson then appeared with the wheelchair and assisted Keith in helping Shiro into it. The older man eyed Lance and Hunk up and down, making the two of them freeze under his intense gaze._

 

“ _They were just on their way to the cafeteria for some kind of celebratory treat.” Shiro stated simply; “But then saw me and wanted to help.” He smiled at them; “Thanks again.”_

 

“ _Ah.” Iverson turned to them; “I appreciate you boys trying to help. Go get what you wanted and head back to your dorm. Curfew is in twenty minutes.”_

 

_They saluted; “Yes, Sir!”_

 

_He turned to Shiro and gently placed a hand on his shoulder; “I'm sorry about before.” he said softly; “Take the next few days off and rest.”_

 

“ _Yes, Sir.” He gave a left-handed salute before Keith began to wheel him away._

 

_Lance and Hunk began walking again, making sure Iverson was out of sight before they stopped._

 

“ _Guess we're going back to our rooms then.” Hunk said._

 

“ _Oh no, we're following them. Something's up and I want to know what it is.” Lance said with all the determination he could muster._

 

_Like before they were light on their feet and sneakily made their way around the halls and out of the Garrison; even with their roundabout way of getting there, they managed to only be a few feet behind Shiro and Keith, but they stuck to the shadows, making sure none of the guards on duty caught them._

 

“ _Where are they going?” Hunk whispered; “The parking lot is on the other side...”_

 

“ _I don't know, but we're going to find out.”_

 

_After a few more minutes of walking, they watched as Keith approached a car that was parked outside of the Garrison; the guards that normally stood at the front gate gone from their posts. The two cadets were quick to stop in their tracks when they witnessed Keith lock the wheels of the chair and Shiro stood from it just fine._

 

“ _Did you get what you needed, Katie?” Shiro asked the girl, who came out of her hiding place from the other side of the vehicle._

 

“ _Yep. Gotta hand it to you, Shiro, I wasn't sure that was going to work.”_

 

“ _Sadly if there's one thing I can count on; it's pity.”_

 

“ _So you were faking it?!” Lance yelled, blowing his and Hunk's cover._

 

_The three of them jumped at the sudden outburst. Keith shot him a fiery glare; “Will you shut up? You're going to get us caught.” Sure enough there was a shuffling of feet heading towards the gate. Keith stalked over to his classmates, tugging on their arms; “Come on!” Forcefully he pulled the two to the car and pushed them into the backseat with Katie._

 

_Shiro was in the passenger seat as Keith sat behind the wheel. The engine hummed with the turn of the key and they soon sped away with a foot pressed to the pedal._

 

“ _I can't believe you faked it.” Lance muttered after long minutes of silence filling the car; “This whole time...”_

 

“ _No, just this time.” Shiro corrected, eyes on the dusty road ahead._

 

“ _So... what happened back there?” Hunk asked, a tad sheepishly._

 

“Thus began the long story of the Kerberos abduction. The five of you decided to work together; the three of you remaining as cadets of the Garrison, while Pidge spent every night she could at the shack with Shiro. However even as time pressed forward, what information the Garrison had was beginning wain thin. Keith had moved into the shack with Shiro in hopes to provide a more constant aide, but what came was in the shape of vivid nightmares and a feeling of uncertainty...” Black stated; the scene shifting to the shack in the dead of night.

 

_The lights were dim in the downstairs of the small home. Keith stood in front of the kitchen sink, leaning against the cool granite counter top in a red t-shirt and black sweatpants as he looked out of the tiny window towards the moon. Soft footsteps creaked along the floorboards, making their approach towards him. Keith didn't need to look back; he felt himself release a breath he had been holding once a steady hand rested upon his shoulder._

 

“ _Bad dream again?” Shiro asked, gently._

 

“ _Yeah... It's weird, I know it's weird, but I can't shake the feeling like something's calling me out there.” sighed, shaking his head; “But I've looked and found nothing...”_

 

“ _Show me.”_

 

_Keith shot his head up, looking over his shoulder to see kind eyes staring back at him; “What?”_

 

“ _Show me where you looked.”_

 

“ _Wh-what does that matter? I said I didn't find anything.”_

 

_Shiro squeezed his shoulder, giving Keith a smile; a smile that was slowly becoming something just for him. Something soft, kind, loving. It grounded him. “It matters because it's important to you. You've always relied on your instincts and right now they are telling you something. You owe it to yourself to keep looking.”_

 

_Keith was quick to place his own hand atop of the one Shiro had on his shoulder, squeezing it in return._

 

“It became a nightly routine for you two; riding a hover bike out to the canyon and caves and each night Blue's call to you became louder and louder, but you still couldn't locate her below. Until one night when the five of you were together in the shack with a new discovery....”

 

“ _Guys, I've been picking up some alien radio chatter and tonight it's louder than I have ever heard it.” Katie says, typing on her computer with a half over headset over her ear; “They keep repeating one word; “Voltron.”_

 

“ _What's a Voltron?” Keith asked._

 

“ _No idea, but from what I can understand they think it's somewhere one Earth.”_

 

_Shiro turned his gaze to Keith, whose stance had now become slightly closed off. His violet eyes was no longer on his friends, but now off to the side and his arms were wrapped around himself. Shiro moved to stand next him, placing his hands on both his biceps; “Maybe this is what has been calling out to you...”_

 

“ _And that terrifies me...” he whispered._

 

“ _Alright,” Lance said, standing from his spot on the sofa, looking at his once rival; “lead the way.”_

 

_Hesitantly Keith gave a nod and one by one they filed out the door and into Shiro's car. As they drove out into the desert and neared the cave, a dark shadow loomed from above; something foreign in the sky._

 

“ _Wh-what is that?!” Hunk stammered._

 

“ _No way...” Lance whispered._

 

“ _Is that an actual alien ship?!” Exclaimed Katie._

 

“ _I guess they heard it too...” Shiro said, softly, his right hand instinctively reached out for Keith's._

 

_Keith took in a deep, calming breath, bracing himself for whatever was to come next._

 

_They were able to make their way into the caver unnoticed by the craft and as they moved, Keith noticed a new opening had been made in the ground. “Shiro.”_

 

_Shiro nodded, glancing around, but saw no sign of forced entry as the opening seemed to have been natural and no one in sight. “I guess we're going down.” He took the first step towards gaping hole, as he got closer he could hear the sound of rushing water, almost like a waterfall; “Everyone, be careful and brace yourselves.” He said, sitting on the edge of the hole, positioning himself just right to slowly push himself down the makeshift water slide._

 

_Keith followed soon after, followed by Lance, Kaite and Hunk. It was hard to not make a sound as they rapidly sped to the bottom, landing with an audible thud and heavy splash. They each groaned as they got to their feet, but as they lifted their gaze, before them sat the Blue Lion._

 

“ _Whoa...” Hunk said in absolute awe._

 

“ _So is that Voltron?” Katie pondered._

 

_The group moved forward, carefully approaching the metal lion, but as they inched closer they saw another mass of people or rather not human people, standing before it. They stood much taller than them, hoods hid the back of their heads and they seemed to be clad in some kind of armor, though one of them was more robed than plated._

 

“ _How do we get it out of here?” The short one with a tail asked, his voice distorted._

 

“ _I'm not sure, but we can't risk destroying the caves.” The robed one answered, her voice too modulated by something._

 

_The third who stood next to them flinched, hearing something behind them. He turned quickly; “Who's there?!” He shouted, unsheathing his blade. The smaller one followed the motion as the woman turned as well._

 

_Shiro motioned for the others to stay back, but Keith remained at his side, stepping forward with him. Shiro had his hands raised to show he was unarmed, Keith however had his hand to the knife on the small of his back._

 

“ _Please, we mean you no harm.” Shiro said calmly._

 

“ _Heh, yeah, I doubt that.” The small one said, dashing forward, running right for Keith._

 

_Keith pushed Shiro to the side, whipping the knife out to block the strike from the sword. Keith used all his strength to shove his attacker back, but in doing so the sword the other wielded cut through the cloth that had been wrapped around the dagger, revealing the glowing purple gem and symbol on its hilt._

 

“ _Regris, lay down your weapon.” The robed woman said, her eyes catching the hilt of the knife. She held her arm out to the side as a sign for her other agent to hold his attack as well. She moved forward to stand between the small soldier known as Regris and the armed teen. “Keith?” though her voice was muffled by the mask, it was clearly shaken as she spoke the name._

 

_Keith took a step back, the knife still held in a defensive stance; “H-how do you know my name?”_

 

_The mask on the woman vanished as she lowered her hood. The sharp features of her face and the piercing violet eyes said it all._

 

“ _She... looks like Keith.” Katie gasped._

 

_Keith dropped the knife, taking a few more steps back. “You're my...”_

 

“ _You know him?” The other masked agent questioned, shocked._

 

“ _Your mother, yes.”_

 

_Shiro was right back Keith's side, his hand on his shoulder, but his eyes were serious and almost angry as he made eye contact with the alien woman before him; “You owe him some answers.”_

 

_She nodded in agreement, bending down to pick up the fallen blade; “I know...” she turned back to the lion, “But first we have to get it and you all out of here.”_

 

_Lance slowly sauntered up to it, looking the barrier over; “Maybe all you have to do is knock.” He wrapped his knuckles against it and to everyone's shock the particle barrier rippled and the lion began to move._

 

_Lance and the rest of his group stood, wide eyed and in awe as they saw the vision of the five lions coming together to form the most powerful weapon in the universe; Voltron._

 

“ _Did everyone else see that?” Hunk asked when the vision had ended._

 

“ _Voltron is a giant robot!” Katie shouted with outright enthusiasm, gesturing her hands towards the Blue Lion; “And this is just a part of it!”_

 

“ _How do you humans know of Voltron?” Regris asked._

 

“ _Looks like we have much to discuss.” Keith's mother said, watching Blue bow her head and open her maw for Lance._

 

“Blue was restless of course, eager to bring you to Arus. However, the Blade of Marmora were prepared; using tractor beams and magnetic fields to bring her aboard their ship. And as Krolia had agreed; there was much to discuss. Aboard the ship Krolia introduced you to Kolivan and as expected; he was none too pleased at first by your interference, more over was shocked to learn that one of his top agents had a human child. It was a lot for everyone to take in, but as you learned about each other, you also learned to trust in each other.” The scene shifted to aboard the Blade ship; a standard Galra cruiser with its gray and black halls, highlighted with the eerie purple glow. Keith sat on a bed within a small room, his knees tucked to his chest as if trying to hide himself in a ball. “Of course, even with a longing for answers to deca-phoebs of questions; the truth sometimes is never easy...”

 

_The door to the room opened, but Keith didn't look up; he only managed to curl in on himself further as the footsteps moved closer. Shiro gently sat on the mattress beside him, the senior Blade uniform he donned being adjusted before he did so. He reached out his left arm, encircling his friend's shoulders and willingly, Keith leaned into him as Shiro pulled him to his side._

 

_They stayed like that for awhile, in the dim light and quiet until Keith's low voice shattered the silence; “What am I, Shiro?” he took a shaking breath._

 

“ _You're Keith, just as you have always been. The same Keith that thrives on fire and passion. The same Keith that is cunning and creative. The same Keith who has been by my side and whom I trust with everything I am...” he pressed his lips to the top of the other's head._

 

“ _But I'm one of them...” he whispered, quivering in Shiro's hold. “The Blades say they are on the side of good, but how can we believe that? After hearing what this emperor has done for ten thousand years; he was once good too, so who's to say I won't turn into a monster?”_

 

“ _Because, your blood doesn't define you. Who you are is more important than the what.” He kept him in the embrace, but moved his right hand under Keith's chin to lift the teen's gaze to meet his; breaking the ball Keith had been in; “And who you are will never change in my eyes...” Both their eyes drifted shut as Shiro closed the space between them; his lips softly resting on top of Keith's. Keith had completely uncurled then, pivoting to move his hand to the back of Shiro's head, his fingers grazing against undercut._

 

“It was what you needed to ground you.” Black said, her voice soft; “Passion has been something that all three of my Paladins burned bright with it for the one you held dear.”

 

Shiro and Keith looked to each other, small smiles tugging at the corners of their lips. It was short lived as Black's voice brought their attention back; “However, passion had become corruption for one and that darkness loomed ever closer. Zarkon had found the other lions and Blue once again became restless as the emperor's ship hovered above the Blades'. It was a risk, but Lance had trust in his lion and a desire to calm her that he rode with her through the wormhole that formed, unfortunately Zarkon had managed to follow through as well; readying his army to invade the Castle of Lions...”

 

They watched as hundreds and hundreds, if not thousands, of soldiers made their decent to the planet. Cannons fired; dwindling the defense of the castle's particle barrier. The scene shifted again, showing the five humans in Blade uniforms; their hoods up and as they dispersed to follow through with their plans, did their masks phase into place. Lance was seen gripping the controls inside Blue, awaiting Ulaz along with the rest of the aerial support team. Regris assisted Hunk and Pidge in hacking into the large war ship to obtain a map and mark possible locations of where the lions could be held. They nodded to each other before making their way to Thace to infiltrate the enemy vessel. That left the leaders to take on the ground assault with their trusty right hands at their sides. The image shifted quickly, as Kolivan and Antok moved like lightning; slicing through the troops. Keith and Krolia found themselves in a mass of both drones and Galra; Keith at first was unarmed, using every bit of hand-to-hand techniques he had learned growing up as Krolia fought along side him with elegant movements of her now formed blade. One quick dodge of a large and burly Galra resulted in a change of tactic and form as Krolia handed the blade off to her son. As Keith made the final blow, his violet gaze turned towards Shiro, who was swift and agile, but was no less fierce as he punched, kicked and elbowed in fluid motions; like a raging river, through the enemy lines, making long strides to follow the emperor into the castle.

 

“Zarkon was quick to find me, but I would not wake. His voice was tainted, his intentions vile and even his touch had turned cold; the plea for my power for something like a twisted pleasure...”

 

_Zarkon balled his claw into a fist, pounding it against the lion's paw; “I am your Paladin! Why do you defy me?!”_

 

“ _You are no Paladin...” Came a distorted voice from behind the Galra ruler._

 

_Zarkon growled at the sight of the hooded figure; “The Blade of Marmora...” he laughed low as he turned fully, the Black Bayard appearing in his hand; a large blade now forming. He took a few steps forward; “You have come far in your efforts... But your journey ends here.” he rushed forward with a mighty swing._

 

_Shiro dove into a roll to the side, avoiding the blade as it clanged against the floor. It became a chase as Zarkon continued his assault with no signs of stopping; each swing became more and more wild and less calculated, the best Shiro could hope for was that maybe he would tire out. In one last downward swing of the sword, Shiro had managed to roll behind the emperor. He studied the situation quickly and decided to aim for his neck, going for a choke hold, but Zarkon proved to be an instinctual fighter. Just as Shiro leaped up did Zarkon pivot; turning swiftly, the Bayard transforming into a large shield and with full force behind it, swing it right into Shiro; knocking him back with a grunt of pain against the lion's paw. The hit caused the mask to fizzle out and steel eyes met vacant gold._

 

“ _You are not Galra...” Zarkon commented, his voice calm._

 

“ _What I am doesn't matter.” Picking up speed again, Shiro lunged forward in a roll to the side to avoid the now chain sword in the emperor's hand; beginning the chase anew. As he zigged and zagged he watched the whip bounce off the cool metal floor; there was no way he could get close, but in the end it didn't matter. Shiro had tried to put some distance between them, attempting to come up with a new strategy, but the whip wrapped around the bicep of his right arm when he raised it to block the attack. The blades dug deep and with a swift tug from Zarkon, Shiro's arm was severed._

 

“ _Shiro!” Keith's muffled voice shouted as he darted into the room, his mother's blade drawn as he heard Shiro's anguished scream of pain._

 

_Zarkon shifted his gaze to his new pray, the chain whipping out from side to side as Keith ran forward, evading each bounce. The teen leaped up, his sword raised in two hands to end this reign of terror only to gasp when he felt a large, clawed hand around his neck; the grip he had on the blade's hilt loosened, his arms dropping to the sides as it clanged to the ground. Zarkon smirked at the sounds of struggling breath, the mask fizzled, revealing Keith's pained expression._

 

“ _The Blades must be desperate...” he tightened his grip._

 

“ _Keith...” was all Shiro could manage, the blood loss becoming too much; his vision going in and out of focus as he lay on the ground._

 

“ _It's all over for you now.” Zarkon said as he turned his attention to the Black Lion; its eyes now flickering to life._

 

_Black moved from its sitting position only to let out a roar with everything fading out to nothing..._

 

The scenes before them shift again, starting again with them back on Earth and the all too familiar television screen of the Pilot Error. It was just as they knew their lives to be, except when Shiro noticed himself escaping his Galra captors. The Admiral gasped at the image; his younger self leaning against the wall, eyeing the sentries with the fingers of his human hand lightly tapping the metal behind him. They watched as he continued down the corridors to the hangar then taking out the soldiers on guard there. “From here, as you see, everything was the same; Shiro crashed and was taken by the Garrison, only to be saved by the four of you. You discovered Blue who brought you to Arus and thus awakening the Princess and Coran. But when the time came for you to fight Zarkon, I hadn't expected to lose another Paladin....”

 

 _Rapid footsteps echoed off the walls of the hangar as Keith never slowed, throwing his helmet to the ground, calling Shiro's name as he approached the fallen Black Lion. He made his way inside and stilled at the sight before him. Shiro's eyes were closed when Keith slowly stepped forward, the body in the chair unmoving. He gently removed Shiro's helmet, but the man never flinched. “Hey... hey, come on...” he tried to hold back the fear and sadness that threatened to rip through his voice. He managed to gather the older man in his arms and walk him out side of the mech where everyone had gathered around. Very slowly he knelt down with_ _Shiro, his whole slim frame shaking. Allura held her hands over her mouth, her crystal eyes wide in horror, Coran was at her side, a sorrowful look on his normally animated features; his hands resting on the woman's shoulders. Lance kept shaking his head in disbelief as Hunk embraced Pidge, the young girl turning away from the sight as they both began to cry. Keith cradled the man in his arms, moving his head closer to his chest; embracing all he had. Tears flowed freely, now barely finding his voice he choked out; “Takashi...” There was no more walls around his heart as the sobs filled the hangar with sorrow._

 

Keith took Shiro's hand in his as they watched the sadness unfold before them.

 

_Black's eyes flickered as she rose behind them and roared; fading everything to nothing once more..._

 

The scene again rewound back to the Kerberos mission and the others on Earth; each moment playing out again as they remembered it, including Ulaz assisting Shiro in his escape. The scene settled on the fight with Zarkon as Voltron created Blazing Sword; “Everything was the same as before and as I watched Shiro strain himself, pouring all of his Quintessence into this final act; I made sure to take him in. I did not know at the time what would come after, but as long as he was with me I knew we would find a way, however...” The scene shifted to Keith searching day after day for Shiro after he vanished. “I couldn't find a way at the time to tell you what happened to him and as much as I wanted to have Shiro talk to you, he was resting and coming to terms with what had happened to him- to his body. But what came next I never expected...”

 

_Keith flew inside the Black Lion, searching the depths of space among the star field. The lion's sensors blipped, picking up a stray Galra pod; “That's strange, there's nothing else out here...” he said more to himself than anything. He flipped a few switches, opening communications to the stray vessel; “This is Keith, Red Paladin of Voltron; does anyone copy?” He cringed a little at his voice; formalities were never really his strong suit, but after a moment, a crackle came across and what followed made his heart skip a beat._

 

“ _K-eith?” said the deep voice, though it sounded too dry and hoarse, Keith would recognize it anywhere._

 

“ _Shiro!” he exclaimed; “Hang on, I'm bringing you in.” He sent a message to the Castle hastily. He leaned back into the pilot's seat, a smile on his lips and his eyes soft; “We found him...” he whispered, choking back a sob._

 

The scenes continued to play out as they knew them to be there after; the clone took its place as the Black Paladin, Keith left for the Blades. The scene then rested on the fight for Naxzela, closing in on Keith's face as alarms blared around him and his eyes clenched shut.

 

Keith couldn't bare to watch. He lowered his head and his grip on Shiro's hand tightened. Moments later he felt the grip returned as Black said; “I couldn't bare to lose you too...”

 

_Keith opened his eyes; his violet orbs filled with curiosity as to where he was. The rebels and Haggar's ship no where to be found and neither was the Castle of Lions. His eyes then grew wide in shock as he set his sights upon Shiro and in turn those silver spheres went wide in horror._

 

“ _Shiro, where are we?” Keith asked, stepping into Shiro's orbit; “Why aren't you-” he paused, wanting to rephrase; “I thought you were with the other Paladins...”_

 

_Shiro shook his head; “I've been here since our battle with Zarkon...”_

 

“ _What?” his voice cracked at the question._

 

“ _I died, Keith...” he paused, his own voice unable to hide the emotion that wanted to spill out; “And you...”_

 

_Keith shook his head, his eyes closing tight; the feeling of failure in the air around them. They embraced as the heard the lion's roar._

 

And once more the timeline began anew with the events flowing as they remember, with Lotor coming in at the last second and then wanting to form an alliance with them. The scene transitioned to the Castle of Lions as Lotor attempted to explain Romelle's story to everyone when Shiro gripped his head, screaming in pain. It was enough of a distraction for Lotor to make his escape with his generals on standby. Shiro began to give chase, running towards the Black Lion so he could complete Haggar's orders, but Keith was right on his tail while the others went after the Galran Prince.

 

The heat and intensity was just as the two remembered it, as they watched themselves fight.

 

_Keith struggled underneath the larger man; “Shiro, please... I know you're in there...” he winced as the heat from the blade began to seer his flesh; “Please... I love you... Shiro, please don't do this....”_

 

“ _Keith...” for a moment his eyes had lost the viciousness, going soft and sad as his eyes made contact with the man below him. A tear fell, rolling down his cheek and landing on the blade that was to Keith's cheek; “I'm sorry...” but just as those words of regret left his lips did the eyes shift back to ones of murderous intent, his strength too returned in full to press down with the blade again._

 

_Keith felt himself change as well, giving into his more feral side; his fangs grew as he growled and his eyes narrowed like a cat's with a faint yellow glow. He summoned the Black Bayard to him, gripping it like a lifeline. “Give him back!” he yelled, cutting through the weaponized arm._

 

_Shiro stumbled back, falling to one knee. He slowly turned his silver gaze up, watching Keith stare down at him through sad violet eyes before his vision blurred and he collapsed onto the floor. Keith threw his weapons down and ran to his side and try as he might to hold back, he letout a sob as he cradled him in his arms; “I'm so sorry, Shiro...” he whispered._

 

“ _Keith!” his mother called, running into the hangar._

 

_The Red Paladin sniffled, blinking back the rest of the tears to look at his mom. She was now kneeling on the other side of them, meeting her son's gaze; “Please take care of him for me...” Keith said, leaning Shiro into his mother's arms._

 

“After that, the fight with Lotor commenced and the Castle was sacrificed in order to save the universe and the journey back to Earth was a long one. Every day, and every night, if there was a waking moment for you, you were by Shiro's side; even when you made it back to the Garrison, you were with him when you could be.” The scenes shifted showing Keith never leaving the pod's side, his hands always on it in some way. “But even with that Shiro in a coma, you fought to save the Earth from invasion and despite Atlas not transforming, you managed to win against Honerva's Acolyte as well. And soon, you took the fight back to the stars, only Honerva was waiting for you, using her magic to bring you here and fight her champions; the corrupted souls of the Paladins of old. Except, she wasn't expecting a different Champion to find you...”

 

“ _No... come on... Pidge!” Keith yelled as he pulled with all his might, the Green Paladin's hand slipping out of his grasp. He pounded the ground desperately, yelling for whatever force took them away to bring them back, but it was getting him no where. Panic had settled in to the point where he summoned his Bayard, transforming it into the large canon and just let loose, hoping it would open up and he could just jump through, but alas, his efforts were for not as the ground didn't even have a dent on it._

 

“ _Keith...” He heard behind him; a voice he had longed to hear again since their fight in the Castle._

 

_The Red Paladin called back his Bayard and as fast as he could he ran towards the voice's owner, flinging his arms around Shiro. They embraced tightly, Keith practically trembling in his arms in utter disbelief; “How? How are you here? I... I...”_

 

“ _I died, Keith...” he replied softly._

 

_Keith pulled back quickly, his violet eyes snapped up to meet Shiro's; “Tha-that's impossible. You're on the Atlas.” he shook his head; “I found you, drifting in a broken down pod... I-” he brought his right hand to his cheek, lightly tracing the scar; “fought you...”_

 

_Shiro took the hand in his, bringing it to rest on his chest as he shook his head; “I don't know what it was that had found or that had attacked you, but it wasn't me.”_

 

“ _When-?”_

 

“ _Since our battle with Zarkon.” he looked back to Black's silhouetted spirit; “She saved me.”_

 

_The area around them began to shake, causing their attentions to return to where Keith had been firing on the ground. Light began to break through the darkness as the other four lions appeared with a roar along side their paladins. Keith smiled brightly at the sight of his family returning._

 

_A collective set of eyes go wide as gasps echoed among the void as they set their sights on the Black Paladin._

 

“Once you were all freed, Allura took on the task of freeing Shiro as well and placed his soul within the clone body.” The scene shifted; Shiro laying on a stretcher within the hangar in front of the Black Lion, then shot up with a gasp and cough before he fell back onto the pillow. Keith took his hand in his, holding it to his chest as everyone else cried tears of joy. “But after about a movement, it came to your attention that you could no longer hear me...” The image again shifted, showing Shiro lying in bed in the infirmary with Keith at his side and Allura standing at the foot looking regretful.

 

“ _I'm so sorry, Shiro.” Allura said, her head downcast; “It's my fault you no longer have a bond to the Black Lion.”_

 

_Keith shook his head; “We can always work on recreating a bond.” he states simply; “If whatever his body was could connect with her, I'm sure it will be no problem for the real Shiro.”_

 

“ _Pft, no pressure there.” Shiro joked._

 

“ _But-” Allura started, but stopped when she saw Shiro shake his head._

 

“ _Really, it's okay.” He said with a smile; “I'm here now because of you and Black and that's more than I could ever ask for. And I will be at your sides till the very end, even if I'm not a paladin.”_

 

_She returned the smile, resting a hand on his foot that resided under the blanket; “You will always be a paladin.”_

 

“And as you know Shiro is Shiro and he falls back into leading like it's as easy as breathing. He helped command the Atlas crew, but mainly he stayed with you all; co-leading Voltron alongside Keith. It was the perfect setup and when the time came to face Honerva, you emerged victorious, except more damage had been done than any of us could have realized; holes had been left within the realities...” The image showed them standing among the clouds and blue sky, nothing else around them save for the lines of connected realities and the gaping holes that threatened them.

 

“ _Is there anything we can do?” Lance asked._

 

_Allura gave a slow, yet sad nod. “There is a way, but...” she trailed off for a moment to take a breath; “It will take a lot of Quintessence to repair the tears.”_

 

“ _You're not.. you're not saying what I think you're saying, are you?” Hunk said, very wary of the situation._

 

“ _If I use all of my Quintessence, I should be able to seal everything.” She confirmed_

 

“ _What!? No, no way, no how, nuh-uh. Not gonna happen.” The Blue Paladin said, gesturing with his hands and shakes of his head._

 

“ _It's the only way, Lance...”_

 

“ _But how can you be sure it will be strong enough. What if a week later it just bursts at the seams? Then we're back with the same problem and without you. I'm not going to let you do this!” he responded, his voice threatening to break._

 

“ _Then we go together.” Shiro said after a moment._

 

_Keith took Shiro's hand in his, gripping tightly; “We're stronger together.”_

 

“ _We said we'd see this through to the end together.” Pidge chimed in, looking to the Princess._

 

“ _And if this is where our journey ends, at least we know everyone will be safe.” Hunk said, giving a nod._

 

“ _We aren't letting you do this alone. We're family and as Keith said; we're stronger together.” Lance took Allura's hand in his._

 

“ _Thank you... I love you all.”_

 

_A bright light flashed, as they joined hands._

 

“And it worked; all realities were saved and within our realities repair, a New Altea was born. Those who fought alongside you and loved you, erected a statue in your honor. The rest of the lions and myself stayed behind, where your last battle had been fought; ensuring that the tears had remained closed and we kept up that watch for an entire deca-phoeb...”

 

_The sun was setting on New Altea as Coran gathered his guests in front of the Defenders of the Universe statue. He stood next to Romelle with the space mice on his shoulder in the center of the group. To his left stood Veronica and the rest of her family alongside Hunks large family and to his right were the Holts, Krolia, Kolivan and Kosmo. They all bowed their heads as the sun dipped below the horizon, setting the sky in twilight._

 

_A force of wind began to pick up, causing the mourners to look to the sky. The five lions touched down, lowering their heads. The air began to feel thick and heavy with a large amount of Quintessence, each lion glowing in their respective colors and by some sort of miracle five bodies now stood before the group all hale and whole._

 

_Gasps and cries rang through the night as the crowd embraced their loved ones, but for one, the joy was short lived. Keith pulled back from his mother's embrace to look among the crowd; his eyes making contact with the other paladins and one by one they began to do the same, but they came up empty. Try as they might, there was no sign of Shiro anywhere._

 

_Keith fell to his knees and made no move to hide away as he cried._

 

“Time went on since that day; planets had healed and rebuilt for the better and everyone moved on with their lives. Pidge stayed with the Garrison, advancing technology alongside her family, Hunk became one of the most famous chefs in the universe and Lance and Allura got married; beginning their own family. But Keith...” Black paused, the scene shifting to show Keith shrouded in darkness; “Keith had become distant, no longer speaking with the paladins, also leaving your position with the Blades and cutting off contact with your mother...” The scene shifted, Keith now stood in front of Black, surrounded by trees on a foreign planet. The sky was overcast and not an inch of light could be seen.

 

“ _Why?!” he pounded his fist onto one of the large metal, paws; “Why did you bring me back and not him?! He was your paladin, not me! Never me! You saved him once, why not again!? Why not now?!” he fell to his knees, his fists still against the cool metal. Even if years had passed, he had always found new tears to shed for the man he loved. “Why am I always the one who has to feel like this...” he sobbed out._

 

_A slithering shadow made its way down one of the nearby trees, moving along the dirt and sliding up from behind Keith; 'They deserve to feel what you feel...' he heard in the back of his head._

 

The scene shifted again with another sunset on New Altea; Keith stood at the foot of the statue. Allura smiled as she approached him, her very pregnant body making protests, but she stopped before getting too close as she sees the tendril-like shadows encircling him.

 

“ _This is all your fault...” He said lowly. “If you didn't sever his bond he would be here.”_

 

“ _Keith, I-”_

 

“ _Shut up!” he snapped, whipping his head in her direction; “You don't get to defend yourself. He gave everything he had and for what? So he could die again?!”_

 

“ _Keith, that's not-”_

 

“ _I said, shut up!”_

 

“ _Hey!” Lance hollered, running up to his wife; placing himself between her and the former Red Paladin; “Lay off, Keith. We all miss Shiro-”_

 

“ _Oh that's rich, coming from you. None of you knew him outside of his skills as a pilot or leader; so don't give me that shit!”_

 

_Lance raised his hands defensively, “Keith, you need to calm down; we know your hurting, but it's been-”_

 

“ _No! Just because you've moved on doesn't mean_ I _can! You've never had an ounce of the suffering or sadness in your life! Have you lost either of your parents? Were you viewed as a problem instead of a grieving child? I didn't see anyone claiming you cheated to get into the Garrison or that it was only because someone vouched for you instead of thinking you had some sense of talent. Shiro was the ONLY thing I had” he removed his knife from its sheath, transforming it into its sword form; glaring at Allura as he did so. “And you took him from me!”_

 

“No... no, no, no...” Keith whispered, shaking his head as he watched in pure horror.

 

“ _Allura, get out of here!” Lance yelled as Keith dashed forward._

 

Shiro pulled Keith towards him, burying the Red Paladin's face to his chest. He too adverted his gaze, pressing his lips to Keith's hair, murmuring “I'm here... I'm here...” softly as he felt the other man quiver within his grasp. The others turned away as well, gasping and screaming at the sight.

 

_A roar rang out just as Keith brought his blade down..._

 

“Try as I might, with our bond severed, I was unable to find Shiro and bring him home. The time he spent in the new body and being involved with the conflict wasn't enough to bond and awaken Atlas...”

 

“But you still let him go even now, why?” Allura asked.

 

“She didn't, not completely anyway.” Shiro corrected, looking up to the Lion in question, but maintained his hold on Keith; “You gave me some of the memories from those fibers, to keep some kind of connection to me.” he paused, removing his prosthetic from the embrace, giving it a look over; “Which made it so I could call Keith's Bayard...”

 

“You mean YOUR Bayard.” Keith said, his nerves having calmed down. He pulled himself away from Shiro's chest slightly, to gaze upon the Black Paladin's face briefly before turning to the Lions.

 

“Okay... but if Shiro is getting his connection to Black back and he is bonded to the Atlas, shouldn't that like drain him? I mean, Allura told us before that it takes a lot of Quintessence to do it right?” Hunk inquired.

 

“Shiro is a bit different.” Black replied; “His Quintessence or soul is something almost unheard of; showing strength like no other, but in the face of all hardships he has remained who he has always been.”

 

“So your a battery too...” Pidge hummed; “That does bring up an interesting point though...” she turned her attention directly to Black; “When we first arrived at the Castle, Allura told us one thing you looked for in your paladin and that made sense, but then and no offense,” she looked at Keith; “You aren't really the natural leader that Shiro is.”

 

“None taken.” Keith said in response, raising a hand passively.

 

“And lets not forget that you piloted Black once before too, before becoming her paladin.” Pidge added.

 

“Is there any doubt why you're my favorite?” Green snickered.

 

Pidge smirked at that; “From my understanding, those traits or quirks help with the bonding process, but Black and Keith don't quite mesh in the way Shiro and Black do.”

 

“But a bond was already formed.” Black stated; “Albeit by a proxy at first. Keith was willing to give himself in whatever way he could to protect him and in turn, Shiro placed all his trust in Keith. The bond they have with each other was more than enough for me to accept them both and they too accepted me, even if it took a little while.”

 

“So it's no different than forming a friendship; taking what you admire of said person or something in common to connect with them initially then have that bond grow as we get to know each other.” Hunk said, smiling.

 

“That's right, and the more we know about each other, the stronger we are.” Commented the Yellow Lion.

 

“You five are special and were chosen for a reason.” Black continued.

 

“Six.” Lance corrected, taking the Princess' hand in his, giving her a smile.

 

“Though I became a Paladin later, it was not meant for me upon our meeting. I said those exact words to you as well.”

 

“That doesn't mean Lance's statement is untrue.” Blue chimed in; “In fact, it might just be the thing Honerva hasn't been expecting.”

 

An audible rumble was heard as well as felt, with Allura and Keith both beginning to fade.

 

“Honerva has kept us silent for far too long, I think it's about time to make some noise.” Red said, to which Keith smirked.

 

Shiro leaned out of the embrace, to bring one of Keith's hands to his lips, brushing them against his knuckles; “I'll be back for you.”

 

“I know you will.” he replied softly; “And you have no idea how much that means to me...”

 

Lance took Allura into his arms as another rumble occurred; “We're going to win this, you have my word we are bringing you home.”

 

Allura smiled, nuzzling into the crook of his neck; “You are my home...” she whispered, tightening her hold.

 

Before they new it the white flash from before happened again and they were separated once more. The walls in the room where they stood began to fall, shattering the debris along the tile.

 

“The time has come, my Paladins.” The White Lion said before erupting a mighty roar.

 

The silhouettes of the Voltron Lions followed, roaring loud and bold before all six of them vanished from sight. The structure around them now falling ever faster; as they turned towards the stair case a large portion of the wall crumbled in a heap in front of it, blocking their path.

 

“Uh guys, what are we going to do?” The Yellow Paladin questioned, panic rising in his voice.

 

Shiro glanced to his prosthetic, a purr in his mind along with a _“Shiro!”_ from Atlas. “Hold on to me!” he ordered.

 

His friends latched on tight in a group hug. He felt the tingling in his right arm, the lights emitting a strong purple as it engulfed the group; teleporting them out of harms way and into the Atlas hangars as the sanctuary crumbled to dust and fell into nothingness. When the Paladins parted and looked up, the eyes to the Lions were alight, ready for the battle that waited them.

 

Keith and Allura hadn't moved since their friends left them; their eyes fixated on the vast distant stars of the void. The Princess held her gaze to where Blue once stood; “I want to help them.” She said firmly, her fists clenching.

 

“We will, we just need to be patient.” Keith reaffirmed.

 

Silence once again settled between them, if only for a moment before a familiar deep and steady voice echoed from behind, catching them by surprise.

 

“I finally found you, Princess.”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew that was a long one, but I hope you all enjoyed it. A couple of things really shone as inspiration for this chapter, the first being the song [ Far Beyond](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXM9KBHGT9w), which a lot of you might recognize as the song from the Season 7 trailer. This mainly inspired the scene when they got to the Astral Plane and was shown the fibers from the time loops.  
> The second was this theory; [ The Atlas The Wolf and the Bayard](https://janestrider.tumblr.com/post/177392187882/the-wolf-the-atlas-and-the-bayard), mainly about Shiro's Bayard. I just took it a step farther to combine this theory with the guilt of not wanting to replace the arm Allura had given him.
> 
> Follow me on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/LusciaKoushiro) to see how fics are progressing! ^_^


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